| Abstract [eng] |
INTRODUCTION: Congenital heart disease and its treatment encompass a unique field of medical science and practice. Literature reports various challenges to provide adequate congenital cardiac care as well as significant decrements in the case volume during the recent pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. The only center which provides congenital cardiac care in Lithuania is Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Clinics. During the pandemic, this hospital was responsible for country wide coordination of the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Expensive and complex services of congenital heart surgery had to be organized in a way that the needs of both congenital heart and the sickest coronavirus disease 2019 patients would be met. This had to be achieved with reorganized hospital supplies and personnel. AIM OF STUDY: To evaluate the effect of various pandemic related restrictions on the accessibility and early outcomes of congenital heart surgery service in Lithuania. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study (“pandemic”) group (n = 290) consisted of patients who underwent surgical treatment of congenital heart disease during the pandemic. Control (“pre-pandemic”) group (n = 310) consisted of a similar number of patients who underwent such treatment before the pandemic. Activity and early outcomes of congenital heart surgery service were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The number of admitted patients was similar in both groups. During the pandemic, younger patients were more often operated as urgent cases. Their median postoperative length of stay was longer. There was no difference in early postoperative mortality between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Various pandemic related restrictions imposed by the government or by the institution were related to significant changes in median patient age, median length of hospital stay and the number of elective and urgent surgical procedures between the studied groups. During the pandemic, overall accessibility and quality of congenital heart surgery service in Lithuania remained similar as in the pre-pandemic period. |
