Does social isolation cause secondary injury in general surgery patients?

Aim: Social isolation during the pandemic has been reported to cause secondary injury to some patient groups. The fear of secondary injury causes patients and health workers to ignore rules of social isolation. Here we aimed to evaluate secondary injury among general surgery patients during the pandemic. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 279 patients, consulted from emergency departments to general surgery departments at Baskent University Ankara and Konya Research Centers, were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to admission periods (Group 1: March 01 - May 01, 2019; n=163, Group 2: March 01 - May 01, 2020; n=116). Results: The mean age of Group 2 (50.4 (19.3)) was less than Group 1 (55.4 (20.4)). Gender (P=0.28), malignancy (P=0.53), comorbidity (P=0.27) distributions were similar. There was no significant difference in terms of admission complaints (P=0.88) and complaint durations (P=0.068). Acute cholecystitis rate was significantly higher in Group 2 (P=0.005), and the rate of non-specific patients was significantly higher in Group 1 (P=0.003). Hospitalization (P=0.46), type of treatment (P=0.3), surgical procedure (P=0.27), length of stay (P=0.66) and mortality rate (P=0.5) were similar. Conclusion: Our results showed no secondary injury to general surgery patients due to the pandemic. During this period, social isolation did not decrease the hospital admission of critically ill patients.