The economic and psychological impact of cancellations of elective spinal surgeries in the COVID-19 era.
Kaiser R., Svoboda N., Waldauf P., Netuka D.
BACKGROUND: The adoption of health care restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of elective surgical care. However, the impact on patients is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychological and economic impact of the cancellation of scheduled spinal operations. METHODS: We identified 50 patients with cancelled surgeries between 16 March 2020 and 24 April 2020. Forty-nine (98%) participants were contacted, with whom the modified WES-Pi questionnaire was filled in during a telephone interview. RESULTS: Of the 49 respondents, 28 (57.2%) were aged <65 years. The most often reported problem (85.7%) was an ongoing limitation in basic daily activities. At least moderate sadness was experienced by 65.3% and disappointment by 73.5% of the patients. More than 80% reported concerns about the continuation and 73.5% about the progression of their symptoms. Out of 27 employees (55.1%), 63% could not work due to severe pain or movement limitation (p