Honeyman Calum S, Patel Vinod, Bakhiet Abdelwakeel, Bradley Daniel R, Almas Fernando, Martin Dominique, McGurk Mark
Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery, Ninewells Hospital, James Arrott Drive, Dundee, DD2 1SG Scotland UK.
Oral Surgery Department, Guys Dental Institute, Guys & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, England UK.
Eur J Plast Surg. 2022;45(3):469-474. doi: 10.1007/s00238-021-01892-4. Epub 2021 Oct 5.
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has catalysed a widespread humanitarian crisis in many low- and middle-income countries around the world, with many African nations significantly impacted. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the planning and provision of international reconstructive collaborations in Africa.
An anonymous, 14-question, multiple choice questionnaire was sent to 27 non-governmental organisations who regularly perform reconstructive surgery in Africa. The survey was open to responses for four weeks, closing on the 7 of March 2021. A single reminder was sent out at 2 weeks. The survey covered four key domains: (1) NGO demographics; (2) the impact of COVID-19 on patient follow-up; (3) barriers to the safe provision of international surgical collaborations during COVID-19; (4) the impact of COVID-19 on NGO funding.
A total of ten reconstructive NGOs completed the survey (response rate, 37%). Ethiopia ( = 5) and Tanzania ( = 4) were the countries where most collaborations took place. Plastic, reconstructive and burns surgery was the most common sub-speciality ( = 7). For NGOs that did not have a year-round presence in country ( = 8), only one NGO was able to perform reconstructive surgery in Africa during the pandemic. The most common barrier identified was travel restrictions (within country, = 8 or country entry-exit, = 7). Pre-pandemic, 1547 to ≥ 1800 patients received reconstructive surgery on international surgical collaborations. After the outbreak, 70% of NGOs surveyed had treated no patients, with approximately 1405 to ≥ 1640 patients left untreated over the last year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed huge pressures on health services and their delivery across the globe. This theme has extended into international surgical collaborations leading to increased unmet surgical needs in low- and middle-income countries.Level of evidence: Not gradable.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00238-021-01892-4.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2，即新冠病毒）大流行在全球许多低收入和中等收入国家引发了一场广泛的人道主义危机，许多非洲国家受到了重大影响。本研究的目的是量化新冠病毒大流行对非洲国际重建合作项目的规划和实施所产生的影响。
向27个定期在非洲开展重建手术的非政府组织发送了一份包含14个问题的匿名多项选择题问卷。该调查为期四周，于2021年3月7日结束。在两周时发送了一次提醒。调查涵盖四个关键领域：（1）非政府组织的基本情况；（2）新冠病毒对患者随访的影响；（3）新冠疫情期间安全开展国际外科合作的障碍；（4）新冠病毒对非政府组织资金的影响。
共有10个重建非政府组织完成了调查（回复率为37%）。埃塞俄比亚（n = 5）和坦桑尼亚（n = 4）是开展合作最多的国家。整形、重建和烧伤外科是最常见的亚专业（n = 7）。对于那些并非全年都在当地开展业务的非政府组织（n = 8），在疫情期间只有一个非政府组织能够在非洲开展重建手术。最常见的障碍是旅行限制（在国内，n = 8；或出入境，n = 7）。在疫情之前，通过国际外科合作，1547至≥1800名患者接受了重建手术。疫情爆发后，70%接受调查的非政府组织没有治疗任何患者，在过去一年中，约有1405至≥1640名患者未得到治疗。
新冠病毒大流行给全球卫生服务及其提供带来了巨大压力。这一情况已延伸至国际外科合作领域，导致低收入和中等收入国家未得到满足的手术需求增加。证据等级：不可分级。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s00238-021-01892-4获取的补充材料。
