Outcome Of Non-Elective Covid Positive Orthopaedic Injury Procedures In Two Tertiary Care Hospitals

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of COVID-positive orthopaedic injury patients operated as emergency cases regarding overall disease progression, laboratory parameters and fracture healing. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi and Combined Military Hospital Malir Karachi Pakistan, from Apr to Nov 2020. Methodology: All the orthopaedic injury patients with no other injuries who tested positive for COVID-19 were included in the study. The demographic data, time of injury and surgery, co-morbidities and values of inflammatory markers such as Creactive protein (CRP), Total Leukocyte Count (TLC), Serum Ferritin and Neutrophil percentage were noted pre-op and on the fifth-day post-operation. The bone fracture, its severity, and the type of orthopaedic intervention were also noted. Results: A total of 17 patients were included in the study, out of which 12 were males (70.6%), and 5 were females (29.4%),with a mean age of 49.06±18.78 years. There were 9(52.9%) cases of mild COVID-19, 3(17.6%) cases of moderate and 5(29.2%) cases of severe disease among orthopaedic injury cases. The most common fracture was of the femur in 12(70.6%) patients,followed by tibia/fibula in 3(17.6%) and 2(11.8%) cases of radius and ulna. In addition, there were 2(11.8%) cases of non-union and 5(29.4%) delayed union. Only 2(5.2%) health professionals developed mild COVID.Conclusion: Orthopedic emergency operations of COVID-19-positive patients can be performed safely following strict COVID-19 protocols.