Government-mandated Social Distancing Did Not Alter Operative Vascular Trauma Patterns At A Single Level-one Trauma Center
Christopher R. Ramos, MD, Jaime Benarroch-Gampel, MD, Victoria Teodorescu, MD, Ravi R. Rajani, MD.
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Government-Mandated Social Distancing Did Not Alter Operative Vascular Trauma Patterns at a Single Level-One Trauma CenterChristopher Ramos, MD; Jaime Benarroch-Gampel, MD; Victoria Teodorescu, MD; Ravi Rajani, MD
Corresponding AuthorChristopher RamosEmory University School of MedicineDepartment of SurgeryGlenn Memorial Building, Room 302-C69 Jesse Hill Jr. Dr, SEAtlanta, GA 30303(720) 352-4160
Government-Mandated Social Distancing Did Not Alter Operative Vascular Trauma Patterns at a Single Level-One Trauma CenterIntroductionOn March 16, 2020 the Federal government issued the Coronavirus Guidelines for America which included recommendations for social distancing. Furthermore, Georgia issued a state-mandated shelter in place order beginning April 2, 2020 and lasting until April 30, 2020. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if government mandates for social distancing had any effects on the number of patients presenting to our urban level 1 trauma center with vascular injuries requiring operative intervention.MethodsEmergent operative trauma cases at our urban level 1 trauma center were reviewed from March 16, 2019 to April 30, 2019 and compared to those presenting between March 16, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Cases found to have a major vascular injury requiring operative intervention were included in our dataset. ResultsA total of 26 patients required operative repair of a vascular injury during these two time periods. There were no differences in daily occurrence of operative vascular trauma volume between the two periods. Furthermore, the types of trauma seen were no different between the two time periods, with a preponderence of penetrating trauma. There was also no difference in severity of trauma, with similar presenting hemodynamics, pre-hospital times, and mortality rates between the two groups.ConclusionDespite government mandates for social distancing during the Coronavirus pandemic, there were no differences in the overall incidence of patients with operative vascular trauma when comparing those presenting between March 16 and April 30, 2019 to March 16 and April 30, 2020. Penetrating trauma, in particular, seems to disregard societal recommendations regarding isolation and social distancing.
| Penetrating Trauma | Sex (Male) | Age | Initial PH | Initial Base Deficit | Mortality | |
| Without Social Distancing (3/16 - 4/30/2019, N=14) | 86% | 79% | 34 | 7.20 | 8.1 | 21% |
| With Social Distancing (3/16 - 4/30/2020, N=12) | 83% | 100% | 33 | 7.27 | 7.0 | 17% |
Table 1: Summary of patients presenting during government mandated social distancing compared to the same time period one year prior.
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