The Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the Emergency Surgery Department of Three Hospitals in Southern Italy

Health systems have had to make significant personnel and procedure changes as a result of the need to prioritize Covid 19 over other diseases. The Department of Emergency Surgery is one of the many affected areas, where it was decided to prioritize urgent procedures that cannot be delayed over those that can be delayed in order to combat the pandemic. The effects of the infection on the wards of three hospitals are evaluated in this study: the AORN “Antonio Cardarelli” in Napoli, the AOU “Federico II” in Napoli, and the University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona” in Salerno. In particular, the “Ruggi d'Aragona” study, but not the “Antonio Cardarelli” study, saw a shift away from regular hospital admissions and toward pre-hospitalization. At the “Ruggi d'Aragona,” where there was no variation in the two years analyzed, this aspect was not highlighted; however, there was an increase in voluntary discharge.