The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac surgery and transplant services in Ireland's National Centre

Background Irish health services have been repurposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Critical care services have been re-focused on the management of COVID-19 patients. This presents a major challenge for specialities such as cardiothoracic surgery that are reliant on intensive care unit (ICU) resources. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on activity at the cardiothoracic surgical care at the National Cardiothoracic Surgery and Transplant Centre. Methods A comparison was performed of cardiac surgery and transplant caseload for the first 4 months of 2019 and 2020 using data collected prospectively on a customised digital database. Results Cardiac surgery activity fell over the study period but was most impacted in March and April 2020. Operative activity fell to 49% of the previous years' activity for March and April 2020. Surgical acuity changed with 61% of all cases performed as inpatient transfers after cardiology admission in contrast with a 40% rate in 2019. Valve surgery continued at 89% of the expected rate; coronary artery bypass surgery was performed at 61% of the expected rate and major aortic surgery at 22%. Adult congenital heart cases were not performed in March or April 2020. One heart and one lung transplant were performed in this period. Conclusions In March and April of 2020, the spread of COVID-19 and the resultant focus on its management resulted in a reduction in cardiothoracic surgery service delivery.