255 The risk of contracting COVID-19 after dermatological procedures compared with other medical procedures

During the COVID19 pandemic, research has shown that many patients have decided to delay elective procedures, even if available, to reduce COVID exposure. There is scant literature that demonstrated the risk of COVID after dermatological procedures and whether these risks are higher compared to other medical procedures. This study aims to investigate these risks. A retrospective cohort study was done using TriNetX, a federated real time database of 63 million patient records. Patients undergoing any procedure were identified by CPT codes from Jan 2020-Nov 2020. ICD-10 and serology codes were used to identify 30-day risk of post-procedural COVID diagnosis per CDC guidelines. A 1:1 matched propensity score analysis was conducted, adjusting for comorbidities and demographics, to calculate adjusted Risk Ratios (aRR) with 95% CI. 224,536 dermatological procedures were conducted during the timeframe. Overall, there was a 2% risk of 30 day COVID diagnosis after a dermatological procedure. After matching, patients had a lower risk of contracting COVID after undergoing dermatological procedures when compared to urinary procedures (aRR[95%CI])=(0.56[0.54-0.58]), gastrointestinal procedures (0.61[0.59-0.63]), cardiovascular procedures (0.56[0.55-0.58]), respiratory procedures (0.42[0.40-0.43]), hemic/lymphatic procedures (0.49[0.46-0.53]), musculoskeletal procedures (0.75[0.73-0.78]), and nervous procedures (0.86[0.83-0.89]). There was no difference in COVID risk compared with reproductive procedures. Dermatological procedures presented a higher COVID risk when compared with endocrine procedures (1.46[1.17-1.82]), ophthalmic procedures (1.23[1.15-1.32]), and auditory procedures [1.52[1.41-1.64]). There is a minimal risk of contracting COVID after dermatological procedures, even when compared to other medical procedures. Risks can be further mitigated by following proper guidelines by public health officials.