The impact of COVID-19 on pancreaticoduodenectomy outcomes in a hepatopancreatobiliary centre of excellence

Background At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to "planned" surgical care was restricted as the health care system responded to the coronavirus. We hypothesized that the pandemic resulted in diagnostic and therapeutic delays, leading to stage migration among patients with malignancies treated with a Whipple procedure. Methods This study is a retrospective review of adults who underwent surgical exploration for a planned pancreaticoduodenectomy for malignancy at St. Joseph's Health Centre between March 11, 2019, and March 11, 2021. Results We included 180 patients in the study. Baseline characteristics, pathologic diagnoses, and perioperative outcomes were similar between the 2 cohorts. The post-COVID group had longer median wait times from date of consent (p < 0.001), and from computed tomography (CT) scan (p < 0.001), to surgery. There were increased rates of R1 margin positivity in the post-COVID group (p = 0.01). We saw an association between higher wait times from consent and the last CT scan to the date of operation, and increased rates of R1 margin positivity in the first year of the pandemic. Conclusion This study demonstrated the importance of prioritizing care during a pandemic and provided evidence for potential long-term consequences when there are delays in surgery for aggressive gastrointestinal malignancies.