The spine surgeon has been the "forgotten soldier," during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Howard An, MD, director of the spine surgery fellowship program at Rush Medical College in Chicago.
As spine surgeons work with various healthcare specialists and support staff managing patients in significant pain, "if their practice is affected, everyone else will be affected," Dr. An said in response to a recent study detailing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the spine community.
Published in the Global Spine Journal, Dr. An served as co-investigator and Dino Samartzis, PhD, also of RMC, was primary investigator of the study.
Between March 27 and April 4, a 73-question survey was provided to 902 spine surgeons from AO Spine, which explored the effects of the pandemic on family life, coping strategies, patient care and financial status, among other areas.
One in four spine surgeons were redeployed to roles outside the scope of their practice, with elevated anxiety and uncertainty noted as a significant trend among those surveyed.
Only seven percent of surgeons reported being tested for COVID-19, 50 percent recorded a lack of PPE and 37 percent reported having at least one chronic disease.
The majority of spine surgeons reported that 75 percent of surgical cases were canceled each week, with almost 95 percent calling for formal international guidelines on how to manage patients with the virus.
Read the full study on how the pandemic affected spine surgeons here.