Hussein Nawfal R, Musa Dildar H, Ibrahim Nashwan, Naqid Ibrahim A, M Saleem Zana Sidiq, Jacksi Karwan
Department of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, University of Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
College of Medicine, University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Int J Surg Open. 2020;27:47-51. doi: 10.1016/j.ijso.2020.10.014. Epub 2020 Nov 4.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge to healthcare services in the world. It has negatively impacted surgical practice, and health workers. We aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical practice in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
An online cross-sectional study using an online survey was performed between 13 April to 29 April, 2020 in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. An online cross-sectional study using an online survey was performed between 13 April to 29 April, 2020 in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. A total of 241 surgeons, aged 28-70 years (mean range 22.2 ± 7.9 SD), were recruited to this study. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgeons' practices. Participants completed a self-developed online questionnaire.
The majority of participants (44.39%) were general surgeons, followed by urologists (17.01%). Approximately 82.57% of surgeons performed surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic and 60.31% undertook emergency surgeries only. There was no significant difference between men and women (P = 0.41) and different age groups (P = 0.08). Only 28.22% of surgeons had access to full personal protective equipment (PPE), and 41.18% believed that wearing PPEs severely affected their skills. Results also found that surgeons aged between 28 and 34 years were more pledged to the use of PPEs, than other age groups (P = 0.001). The use of PPEs during surgeries was significantly higher in the Sulaymaniyah province (P = 0.001). The surgical services were also severely impacted in the Sulaymaniyah province than in the other provinces (p = 0.001).
The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected surgical practice in the Kurdistan Region, particularly in the Sulaymaniyah province. Males, and young surgeons showed a higher commitment level for using PPE. Additional training and precautions are needed to increase awareness about COVID-19 among surgeons, and the importance of using PPE during surgery.
新冠疫情是全球医疗服务面临的重大挑战。它对外科手术实践和医护人员产生了负面影响。我们旨在评估新冠疫情对伊拉克库尔德地区外科手术实践的影响。
2020年4月13日至4月29日在伊拉克库尔德地区进行了一项使用在线调查问卷的在线横断面研究。共有241名年龄在28至70岁（平均年龄22.2±7.9标准差）的外科医生参与了本研究。该问卷旨在评估新冠疫情对外科医生手术实践的影响。参与者完成了一份自行编制的在线问卷。
大多数参与者（44.39%）是普通外科医生，其次是泌尿科医生（17.01%）。约82.57% 的外科医生在新冠疫情期间进行了手术，其中60.31% 仅进行了急诊手术。男性和女性之间（P = 0.41）以及不同年龄组之间（P = 0.08）没有显著差异。只有28.22% 的外科医生能够获得全套个人防护装备（PPE），41.18% 的人认为佩戴PPE严重影响了他们的操作技能。结果还发现，年龄在28至34岁之间的外科医生比其他年龄组更愿意使用PPE（P = 0.001）。在苏莱曼尼亚省，手术期间PPE的使用显著更高（P = 0.001）。苏莱曼尼亚省的外科服务也比其他省份受到的影响更严重（p = 0.001）。
新冠疫情严重影响了库尔德地区的外科手术实践，特别是在苏莱曼尼亚省。男性和年轻外科医生在使用PPE方面表现出更高的积极性。需要额外的培训和预防措施，以提高外科医生对新冠疫情的认识，以及手术期间使用PPE的重要性。
