The effect of national public health interventions for COVID-19 on emergency general surgery in Northland, New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: The New Zealand government instituted escalating public health interventions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. There was concern this would affect health seeking behaviour leading to delayed presentation and worse outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of these interventions on rate and severity of acute general surgical admissions in Northland, New Zealand. METHODS: A retrospective comparative cohort study was performed. Two cohorts were identified: 28 February to 8 June 2020 and same period in 2019. Data for surgical admissions and operations and emergency department (ED) presentation were obtained from the hospital data warehouse. Three index diagnoses were assessed for severity. RESULTS: There were 650 acute general surgical admissions in 2019 and 627 in 2020 (P 0.353). Operations were performed in 226 and 224 patients respectively (P 0.829). ED presentations decreased from 11 398 to 8743 (P < 0.001). No difference in severity of acute appendicitis (P 0.970), acute diverticulitis (P 0.333) or acute pancreatitis (P 0.803) was detected. Median length-of-stay, 30-day mortality and admission diagnosis were comparable. CONCLUSION: Despite a significant reduction in ED presentations, interventions for COVID-19 did not result in a difference in the rate or severity of acute general surgical admissions.