BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 virus changed society’s behaviour. Population was advised to reduce unnecessary heath care use to accommodate urgent cases and daily increase of COVID-19 patients. Health care facilities faced huge challenges, having to readjust their response to preserve good quality of care. In Portugal, a significant reduction in the number of admissions to the Emergency Department (ED) was reported all over the country, however the impact on the dynamics of undeferrable surgery remains to be reported. This study compares the volume and characteristics of urgent/emergency surgery during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic with the homologous period in 2019, chronologically illustrating the national evolution of new COVID-19 cases and the social and hospital containment response.MethodsA retrospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary hospital center located in the most affected region by COVID-19 in Portugal. Medical records of patients who underwent urgent/emergency surgery between March 1stand May 2ndof both 2020 and 2019 were examined and the volume of surgeries were compared. Also, daily national updates from Portuguese Directorate-General for Health were analysed.ResultsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic approximately 30% less patients underwent urgent/emergency surgery (99%CI?=?0.18–0.61,p?
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