Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine (Oct 2022)

Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Acute Coronary Syndrome Clinical Practice Patterns: Findings from a Multicenter Clinician Survey in China

  • Feng Hu,
  • Minhua Zang,
  • Lihui Zheng,
  • Wensheng Chen,
  • Jinrui Guo,
  • Zhongpeng Du,
  • Erpeng Liang,
  • Lishui Shen,
  • Xiaofeng Hu,
  • Dezhong Zheng,
  • Xuelian Xu,
  • Gaifeng Hu,
  • Aihua Li,
  • Jianfeng Huang,
  • Yan Yao,
  • Jun Pu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2311362
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 11
p. 362

Abstract

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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected healthcare systems around the world. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of cardiologists regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the clinical practice patterns for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: A multicenter clinician survey was sent to 300 cardiologists working in 22 provinces in China. The survey collected demographic information and inquired about their perceptions of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected ACS clinical practice patterns. Results: The survey was completed by 211 (70.3%) cardiologists, 82.5% of whom were employed in tertiary hospitals, and 52.1% reported more than 10 years of clinical cardiology practice. Most respondents observed a reduction in ACS inpatients and outpatients in their hospitals during the pandemic. Only 29.9% of the respondents had access to a dedicated catheter room for the treatment of COVID-19-positive ACS patients. Most respondents stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had varying degrees of effect on the treatment of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), acute non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and unstable angina. Compared with the assumed non-pandemic period, in the designed clinical questions, the selection of coronary interventional therapy for STEMI, NSTEMI, and unstable angina during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly decreased (all p < 0.05), and the selection of pharmacotherapy was increased (all p < 0.05). The selection of fibrinolytic therapy for STEMI during the pandemic was higher than in the assumed non-pandemic period (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected ACS clinical practice patterns. The use of invasive therapies significantly decreased during the pandemic period, whereas pharmacotherapy was more often prescribed by the cardiologists.

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