606 Mortality and Pulmonary Complications in Patients Undergoing Upper Extremity Surgery at The Peak of the SARS-Cov-2 Pandemic in the UK: A National Cohort Study Presented on Behalf of The Corona Hands Collaborative

This study reports the 30-day mortality, SARS-CoV-2 complication rate and SARS-CoV-2 related hospital processes at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in the UK. Method This national, multicentre, cohort study at 74 centres in the UK included all patients undergoing any surgery below the elbow at the peak of the UK pandemic. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. Results This analysis includes 1093 patients who underwent upper limb surgery from the 1st to the 14th of April 2020. The overall 30-day mortality was 0.09% and the mortality of day case surgery was zero. The SARS-CoV-2 complication rate was 0.18% (2 pneumonias) and the overall complication rate 6.6% (72 patients). Both SARS-CoV-2 related complications occurred in patients who had been hospitalised for a prolonged period before their surgery and a total of 19 patients (1.7%) were SARS-CoV-2 positive. Conclusions The SARS-CoV-2 related complication rate for upper limb surgery even at the peak of the UK pandemic was low at 0.18% and the mortality was zero for patients admitted on the day of surgery. Urgent surgery should not be delayed pending the results of SARS-CoV-2 testing.