A team led by researchers at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Medicine analyzed data on more than 2.9 million adults undergoing major surgery at 677 hospitals between Jan. 1, 2018, and May 31, 2020.
Researchers found the odds of dying after surgery were 38 percent higher in hospitals with the highest COVID-19 burden compared to hospitals with a low COVID-19 burden during the spring 2020 wave.
“Whether this finding was associated with patients presenting later in their acute illness because of heightened fear of contracting COVID-19 at their local hospital or whether it suggests a higher level of care disruption in hospitals with a higher COVID-19 burden is unclear, and it is likely that both factors contributed to some degree,” researchers said.
Uninsured or Medicaid patients did not have a higher risk of death compared to patients with commercial insurance treated at hospitals with a very high COVID-19 burden.
View the full study here.
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