2022 Volume 34 Issue 2 Pages 128-136
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of coronavirus disease 2019（COVID-19）on the patients referred to our hospital.
Methods: The clinical data of the patients who were referred to our hospital between January 2018 and March 2021 were retrospectively collected and compared between before the pandemic（from January 2018 to February 2020）and after the pandemic（from March 2020）.
Results: The average number of referred patients significantly decreased from 0.98/day（before the pandemic）to 0.53/day（after the pandemic）. The rate of the referrals for the purpose of surgery did not change between before and after the pandemic, however, the patients referred for surgery of large joints in lower limbs significantly increased from 34.6% to 56.0%（p=0.03）. On the other hand, the rate of the patients for surgery of upper limbs significantly decreased from 38.5% to 12.0%（p=0.01）. The details of medical treatment introduced in our hospital did not show any changes between before and after the pandemic.
Conclusion: The number of the referred patients decreased after the pandemic, suggesting that the patients who were afraid of spreading of COVID-19 refrained from visiting local clinics. Surgeries for large joints in lower limbs were performed the same as before pandemic, on the other hand, surgeries for upper limbs were significantly decreased because upper limb surgery can be postponed relatively easily. There was no change in drug treatment before and after the pandemic, which means the adequate treatment was performed in the same manner as before pandemic.
