952 In-Patient Trauma Surgery in COVID-19 Positive Patients Carries A Significantly Higher Mortality Risk When Compared to In-Patient Covid-19 Negative Patients and Day Case Trauma Patients

Covid-19 caused many service changes, yet Trauma surgery continued throughout. We compare mortality rates from In-Patient (IP) and Day Case (DC) trauma patients and compare the mortality rates of patients who tested positive or negative for Covid-19. Method We reviewed all trauma admissions that underwent surgical intervention in both our IP and DC services during 31 days from March 23rd 2020. We recorded their sex, age, operation, Covid-19 symptoms, Covid-19 test results and mortality. The findings were compared between the groups. Results In total 127 patients underwent surgery (66 IP; 61 DC). There were 6 deaths (9.1%) within the IP group and 0 deaths in the DC group (p = 0.006). In the IP group 8 patients (12.1%) tested positive for Covid-19 of which 4 died (50%) compared to the remaining 58 patients (87.9%) of which 2 (3.4%) died (p < 0.001). A higher mortality rate was observed in patients with symptoms but a negative Covid-19 test (6.7%) than patients in whom a test was never indicated (2.3%). Conclusion Covid-19 positive patients requiring in-patient admission for trauma surgery have a significantly higher mortality rate than both in-patient admissions that were Covid-19 negative or asymptomatic and patients that were treated with Day Case Trauma surgery.