The Impact of the Covid 19 Pandemic on Surgical Case Volumes on a Safety Net Teaching Hospital in New York City

Abstract

Priya Sorab, Michael Parise, Alexander Kaufman, David Kirsch and Norman Saffra

The COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation of elective surgeries, leading to decreased surgical volume and training for residents. This effect was pronounced in medically underserved areas, such as Far Rockaway, New York. The goal of this study was to understand the impact of the pandemic on surgical volumes at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, a safety net hospital serving Far Rockaway. Operating Room Data, containing surgical volumes for Ophthalmology and five other surgical branches from January 2018 through February 2022, was analyzed between four waves of the pandemic. For each field, average surgery case counts between the waves were compared using two-tailed t-test. In several fields, there were significant drops in surgical volume between the pre-covid era and the first wave. Ophthalmology cases fell by 29.7% (p<.01). Retinal detachment repair and globe procedure volumes did not change significantly, laser photocoagulation cases rose (p<.01), cataract surgery volumes fell by 100% (p<.01) and rebounded once the elective surgery ban was lifted. The volumes of non-emergent surgeries fell at the onset of the pandemic. Cataract surgery volume likely fell as it is an elective procedure. Urgent procedures such as retinal detachment repairs did not change in volume as postponement could lead to vision loss.

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