The Impact of COVID-19 on Surgical Practice in Jordan During the Second Outbreak

Overview

Background: COVID-19 is an acute respiratory pandemic with no available effective antiviral treatment or widely available effective vaccine. Surgical practice has faced widespread problems due to the pandemic including viral transmission risk and cross-infection, staffing problems, prioritizations of surgical procedures and lack of beds due to occupancy of hospitals and ICU beds with COVID-19 patients; Methods: A survey was conducted between October 31 to November 4, 2020, through google forms. The questionnaire involved 16 questions sent to consultants and specialists of all general and special surgical specialties and subspecialties in Jordan;

A survey was conducted between October 31 and November 4, 2020. The questionnaire was made through google forms, and a consent was taken from the Jordan medical association to send the link to surgeons in Jordan through the social media and the official WhatsApp groups. The survey was introduced with the invitation to participate of surgeons of all general and special surgical specialties and subspecialties. The aim of the survey was mentioned in the introduction which was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on surgical practice in Jordan during the second outbreak of COVID-19, and it was explained that the aim of the survey was for research purposes only and that it was totally anonymous with privacy preserved, and no identifying information required. Also, it was noted that we have added spaces for written views and recommendations. The questionnaire involved 16 questions of the multiple-choice, the dropdown, the multiple check, and the short answer questions. The first 2 questions were about the specialty and the place of work whether it was the ministry of health, the royal medical services, the university hospitals, or the non-governmental organizations. The 3rd and 4th questions were about the hospital where the participant works whether it admits COVID-19 patients and/or ordinary patients. The Questions from the 5th to the 8th were about the volume of work in terms of the number of elective and emergency surgeries during the month of October 2020 in comparison to the average monthly rate during the year 2019. The questions from the 9th to the 15th were about the problems that might have been faced in managing elective and emergency cases during the month of October 2020 in relation to COVID-19. The last question was a multiple checkbox question with an added space for giving the possible recommendations to manage the situation.