Surgical Critical Care Outcomes Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single-Center Retrospective Comparative Audit
- 1FMH College of Medicine & Dentistry
Abstract
This audit aimed to determine whether the pattern of presenting abdominal pathology, procedures performed, and clinical outcomes in our surgical intensive care unit (SICU) changed during the COVID-19 period. We reviewed a total of 356 patients who were admitted to the SICU with 1st March 2020 taken as the reference cutoff date. Two hundred and five (57.6%) cases occurred in the Pre-COVID interval and 151 (42.4%) in the Post-COVID interval. Patients admitted to SICU Post-COVID were significantly older than those admitted Pre-COVID (54.2 vs. 48.3 years, p = 0.005). Hospital and SICU length of stay were unchanged across the pandemic (p = 0.824 and 0.601 respectively). The procedure case-mix shifted significantly (p = 0.014): appendectomy, gastrectomy/sleeve gastrectomy and thoracic procedures fell, while exploratory laparotomy rose, consistent with reduced elective/minimally-invasive activity and a shift toward emergency open surgery. Appendiceal disease was recorded significantly less often as the presenting diagnosis Post-COVID (p = 0.016), and intestinal obstruction showed a non-significant upward trend (p = 0.071). SICU mortality and overall admission outcome were unchanged across the pandemic (p = 1.000 and 0.664).
Related
- Surgical strategies for total colonic aganglionosis: a retrospective comparative study
- Perioperative Outcomes of Multivessel Minimally Invasive Coronary Revascularization at a Specialized Center: A Retrospective Cohort of Complete Surgical and Planned Hybrid Strategies
- Echinococcus granulosus Genotype and Surgical Outcomes After Cystic Echinococcosis Surgery: A Propensity-Score-Adjusted Retrospective Pilot Cohort Study
- Comparison of surgical outcomes, safety, and cosmetic satisfaction between immediate implant-based and transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap breast reconstruction following total mastectomy: a retrospective cohort study
- Comparing Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic Myomectomy Versus Laparotomy at a Specialized Tertiary Hospital for Women’s Health: A Retrospective Study
BibTeX
@misc{ali2026surgical,
title = {{Surgical Critical Care Outcomes Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single-Center Retrospective Comparative Audit}},
author = {S. M. H. Ali and U. Yasin and O. Ather and A. Malik},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.02.26361948},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.26361948v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Surgical Critical Care Outcomes Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single-Center Retrospective Comparative Audit
AU - S. M. H. Ali
AU - U. Yasin
AU - O. Ather
AU - A. Malik
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.02.26361948
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.26361948v1
AB - This audit aimed to determine whether the pattern of presenting abdominal pathology, procedures performed, and clinical outcomes in our surgical intensive care unit (SICU) changed during the COVID-19 period. We reviewed a total of 356 patients who were admitted to the SICU with 1st March 2020 taken as the reference cutoff date. Two hundred and five (57.6%) cases occurred in the Pre-COVID interval and 151 (42.4%) in the Post-COVID interval. Patients admitted to SICU Post-COVID were significantly older than those admitted Pre-COVID (54.2 vs. 48.3 years, p = 0.005). Hospital and SICU length of stay were unchanged across the pandemic (p = 0.824 and 0.601 respectively). The procedure case-mix shifted significantly (p = 0.014): appendectomy, gastrectomy/sleeve gastrectomy and thoracic procedures fell, while exploratory laparotomy rose, consistent with reduced elective/minimally-invasive activity and a shift toward emergency open surgery. Appendiceal disease was recorded significantly less often as the presenting diagnosis Post-COVID (p = 0.016), and intestinal obstruction showed a non-significant upward trend (p = 0.071). SICU mortality and overall admission outcome were unchanged across the pandemic (p = 1.000 and 0.664).
ER -