Med. Klinik I-Department of cardiology, University Hospital Giessen, Klinikstraße 33, 35390, Giessen, Germany.
Department of cardiology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Herzschrittmacherther Elektrophysiol. 2021 Mar;32(1):108-113. doi: 10.1007/s00399-020-00734-3. Epub 2020 Dec 23.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various strategies have been taken worldwide to reduce the risk of infection. As part of the amendment to the Infection Protection Act, elective medical interventions were restricted, leading to a change in patient care. However, the consequences of the lockdown on the treatment of rhythmological patients in Germany remains unclear.
The aim of this study was to analyze the reduction in rhythmological interventions and the patient care situation using a nationwide survey during the first lockdown period.
A survey was sent to all electrophysiological centers certified by the German Society of Cardiology. Here, the treatment volume of tachycardia and bradycardia and their invasive therapy were surveyed before and during the lockdown period. Furthermore, the number of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) treated at these centers and the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias was also recorded.
Participating centers performed a total of 24,648 ablation procedures/year and represent approximately 34% (24,648/72,548) of the estimated German ablation treatments. The majority of these centers (33/40; 82.5%) were so-called primary COVID-19 hospitals (level-1). Overall, the number of ablations and pacemaker implantations were reduced by 41% and 18% respectively. Due to postponed ablation procedures and pacemaker implantations, 22/40 (55%) centers reported a worsening of clinical symptoms or early re-hospitalization of their patients.
These results demonstrate a significant decline in elective rhythmological procedures during the lockdown, as required by the German Federal Government. At the same time, however, more than half of the participating centers reported an increase in patient re-hospitalizations due to postponed procedures.
自 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行爆发以来，全球各国采取了各种策略来降低感染风险。作为感染保护法修正案的一部分，选择性医疗干预受到限制，导致患者护理发生变化。然而，封锁对德国节律患者治疗的影响尚不清楚。
本研究旨在通过在首次封锁期间进行全国性调查，分析节律干预减少和患者护理情况。
向德国心脏病学会认证的所有电生理中心发送了一份调查。在此，调查了心动过速和心动过缓的治疗量及其在封锁期间的侵入性治疗。此外，还记录了这些中心治疗的严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）患者数量以及心律失常的发生率。
参与中心共进行了 24648 次消融手术/年，占德国估计消融治疗的 34%（24648/72548）。这些中心中的大多数（33/40；82.5%）是所谓的一级 COVID-19 医院（一级）。总体而言，消融和起搏器植入的数量分别减少了 41%和 18%。由于消融和起搏器植入的推迟，40 个中心中的 22 个（55%）报告称其患者的临床症状恶化或提前再次住院。
这些结果表明，在德国联邦政府要求的封锁期间，选择性节律学手术明显减少。然而，与此同时，超过一半的参与中心报告称，由于推迟的程序，患者再次住院的人数增加。
