Background
In the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, most elective procedures were halted, but pacemakers for symptomatic bradycardia or heart block, or defibrillator for secondary prevention continued as they were essential services. We sought to examine the trends of cardiac device implantations, in hope to derive insights into population health-seeking behaviour during a pandemic.
Methods
All cardiac devices between February 2020 and January 2021 performed at the Northern Hospital were analysed. The number of procedures, including service categories (inpatient vs outpatient) were compared.
Results
A total of 154 devices were performed. A dramatic drop in presentation was observed between April and August 2020. Stage 4 lockdown was introduced in August and lifted only in October 2020. A spike was however observed in September.
Conclusion
The first wave of COVID-19 saw a sharp decline in cardiac implantations/ patient presentations, likely due to health-seeking pattern/ behaviour as patients were probably more reluctant to present in the early months. The spike in September 2020 likely represents delayed presentation, that would otherwise have presented earlier if not for the pandemic.
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