TABLE 2.
Hospital preparedness for COVID‐19 pandemic
| Total responses (n = 1050) | Asia (n = 186) | Europe (n = 570) | North America (n = 200) | South America (n = 68) | Africa (n = 16) | Oceania (n = 10) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital rearrangement | |||||||
| Fully dedicated to COVID‐19 | 161 (15.3) | 40 (21.5) | 70 (12.3) | 38 (19.0) | 12 (17.6) | 1 (6.3) | 0 (0) |
| Partially dedicated to COVID‐19 | 746 (71.0) | 106 (57.0) | 417 (73.2) | 153 (76.5) | 51 (75.0) | 10 (62.5) | 9 (90.0) |
| Not involved in COVID‐19 care | 143 (13.6) | 40 (21.5) | 83 (14.6) | 9 (4.5) | 5 (7.4) | 5 (31.3) | 1 (10.0) |
| External facilities for proctological surgery | |||||||
| Available for benign and oncological cases | 69 (6.6) | 32 (17.2) | 18 (3.2) | 9 (4.5) | 7 (10.3) | 2 (12.5) | 1 (10.0) |
| Available for oncological cases only | 182 (17.3) | 39 (21.0) | 105 (18.4) | 20 (10.0) | 12 (17.6) | 3 (18.8) | 3 (30.0) |
| Unavailable | 799 (76.1) | 115 (61.8) | 447 (78.4) | 171 (85.5) | 49 (72.1) | 11 (68.8) | 6 (60.0) |
| Surgical consent form redesigned for | |||||||
| SARS‐CoV‐2+ patients | 598 (57.0) | 122 (65.6) | 327 (57.4) | 93 (46.5) | 42 (61.8) | 9 (56.3) | 5 (50.0) |
| SARS‐CoV‐2– patients | 623 (59.3) | 132 (71.0) | 334 (58.6) | 102 (51.0) | 41 (60.3) | 9 (56.3) | 5 (50.0) |
| Use of personal protective equipment in theatre with | |||||||
| SARS‐CoV‐2+ patients | |||||||
| Always | 921 (87.7) | 142 (76.3) | 508 (89.1) | 191 (95.5) | 59 (86.8) | 11 (68.8) | 10 (100) |
| Case‐by‐case | 107 (10.2) | 34 (18.3) | 55 (9.6) | 7 (3.5) | 8 (11.8) | 3 (18.8) | 0 (0) |
| Never | 22 (2.1) | 10 (5.4) | 7 (1.2) | 2 (1.0) | 1 (1.5) | 2 (12.5) | 0 (0) |
| SARS‐CoV‐2– or untested patients | |||||||
| Always | 556 (53.0) | 95 (51.1) | 276 (48.4) | 139 (69.5) | 36 (52.9) | 4 (25.0) | 6 (60.0) |
| Case‐by‐case | 399 (38.0) | 71 (38.2) | 234 (41.1) | 52 (26.0) | 30 (44.1) | 8 (50.0) | 4 (40.0) |
| Never | 95 (9.0) | 20 (10.8) | 60 (10.5) | 9 (4.5) | 2 (2.9) | 4 (25.0) | 0 (0) |
| Personal protective equipment readily available | 745 (71.0) | 131 (70.8) | 388 (68.1) | 162 (81.0) | 45 (66.2) | 10 (62.5) | 9 (90.0) |
| All patients are tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 prior to surgery | 541 (51.5) | 87 (46.8) | 369 (64.7) | 71 (35.5) | 10 (14.7) | 1 (6.3) | 3 (30.0) |
| Experience with patients refusing surgery | 381 (36.3) | 78 (41.9) | 186 (32.6) | 84 (42.0) | 29 (42.6) | 2 (12.5) | 2 (20.0) |
| 1–5 patients | 176 (16.8) | 38 (20.4) | 85 (14.9) | 39 (19.5) | 14 (20.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| 6–10 patients | 90 (8.6) | 13 (7.0) | 44 (7.7) | 20 (10.0) | 10 (14.7) | 2 (12.5) | 1 (10.0) |
| 11–20 patients | 45 (4.3) | 10 (5.4) | 23 (4.0) | 9 (4.5) | 3 (4.4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| >20 patients | 70 (6.7) | 17 (9.1) | 34 (6.0) | 16 (8.0) | 2 (2.9) | 0 (0) | 1 (10.0) |
| Current outcome of patients waiting for surgery or visits | |||||||
| Rescheduled until the end of pandemic | 223 (21.2) | 47 (25.3) | 122 (21.4) | 37 (18.5) | 12 (17.6) | 4 (25.0) | 1 (10) |
| Rescheduled upon balance of risks and benefits | 319 (30.4) | 56 (30.1) | 180 (31.6) | 54 (27.0) | 22 (32.4) | 3 (18.8) | 4 (40.0) |
| Rescheduled in 1–3 months according to the waiting list | 252 (24.0) | 44 (23.7) | 116 (20.4) | 64 (32.0) | 21 (30.9) | 4 (25.0) | 3 (30.0) |
| Yet to be established | 256 (24.4) | 39 (21.0) | 152 (26.7) | 45 (22.5) | 13 (19.1) | 5 (31.3) | 2 (20.0) |
Figures in brackets are percentages or SD where stated.