Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations of the specialty hospital department in Beijing

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was disruptive to non-COVID-19-related healthcare. This study aimed to compare patient inflows and patient population characteristics at the Hand Surgery Department of JiShuiTan (JST) Hospital in Beijing, a top referral center, in 2020 during the pandemic relative to the same period in 2019. This cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients admitted to the hand surgery ward. The participants were patients admitted from January to April 2019 (J-A19) and from January to April 2020 (J-A20). The medical records were analyzed, including age, sex, admission time, admission mode, admission diagnosis, and patient residence. Significantly fewer patients were admitted in J-A20 than in J-A19, with particularly dramatic reductions observed for non-Beijing residents and nonemergency cases (e.g., congenital anomalies operations for children). The top 5 diagnosis types for admitted patients were consistent throughout J-A19 and in January 2020. The rank of the diagnostic type "open injuries of the hand and wrist" increased significantly in February, March, and April of 2020 compared with 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic decreased patient admissions, especially for nonemergency patients, during J-A20.