Effect of One Year COVID-19 on Trauma of Lower Extremity at Orthopaedic Service in Prof Soeharso Orthopaedic Hospital, Indonesia: A Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. Despite the fact that orthopaedic departments are not considered first-line department in the war against pandemic, the pandemic has had a big effect on orthopaedic services. A few studies have found the pandemic effect on the orthopaedics field, but none have found the effect of a one-year pandemic, especially in Indonesia. This study aimed to know the effect of one-year COVID-19 on trauma of lower extremity at Orthopaedic Service in Prof Soeharso Top Referral Orthopaedic Hospital, Indonesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: It is a cross-sectional study. The study compared the population group during one year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia to the same period one year before. This study was conducted in Prof. Dr. R. Soeharso Orthopaedic Hospital, Surakarta, Indonesia from March 2019-February 2021. The subjects were patients of lower extremity trauma both surgical procedure and outpatient visit. Patients recorded on other orthopaedic service support installations like radiology, laboratory, or physiotherapy were excluded.

RESULTS: There was a significant reduction (54.9%) in total trauma of lower extremities patients in Prof Dr R Soeharso Orthopaedic Hospital, Surakarta, from 2146 (pre-COVID-19) to 968 (during COVID-19) in the March 2019-February 2021 period. There was also a significant reduction (90.9%) in total cases outpatient visit in pre-COVID-19 compared to during COVID-19 (p<0.05) and surgical procedures (39%) in pre-COVID-19 compare to the COVID-19 period (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: There was a significant reduction on trauma of lower extremities patients both outpatient visits and surgical procedures during pandemic COVID-19 than before the COVID-19 occurred.