Management of acute and chronic aortic disease during the COVID-19
pandemic- results from a web-based ad-hoc platform
Abstract
Background. To share the results of a web-based expert panel discussion
focusing on the management of acute and chronic aortic disease during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. A web-based expert panel discussion on
April 18th 2020 where 8 experts were invited to share their current
experience with COVID-19 disease touching several aspects of aortic
medicine, was performed. After each talk, specific questions were asked
to the online audience and results were immediately evaluated and shared
with faculty and participants. Results. As of April 18 2020, 73.3% of
the 87 participants from 26 different countries answered that overall
less than 200 COVID positive patients have been treated in their
respective institutions. Sixty-five percent reported that their hospital
was well prepared for the pandemic. In 57.7 %, the percentage of
infected health care professionals was below 5% whereas 23% reported
5-10% and 19.2% reported between 10 and 20%. Three percent reported
to have seen aortic ruptures in primarily elective patients having been
postponed because of the anticipated need to provide sufficient ICU
capacity because of the pandemic. Nearly 70% reported a decrease of
acute aortic syndromes since the start of the pandemic. Conclusions. The
current COVID-19 pandemic has- led to a decrease of referrals of acute
aortic syndromes in many services. The reluctance of patients seeking
medical advice seems to be a major driver. The number of patients who
have been postponed due to provisioning ICU resources but having
experienced aortic rupture in the waiting period, is still low.