Early Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Congenital Heart Surgery Programs Across the World: Assessment by a Global Multi-Societal Consortium
Eleftherios Protopapas, Mauro Lo Rito, Vladimiro L. Vida, George E. Sarris, Christo I. Tchervenkov, Bohdan Maruszewski, Zdzisław Tobota, Bistra Zheleva, Hao Zhang, Jeffrey P. Jacobs, Joseph A. Dearani, Elizabeth H. Stephens, James S. Tweddell, Néstor Sandoval, Emile Bacha, Erle H. Austin, Kisaburo Sakamoto, Sachin Talwar, Hiromi Kurosawa, Zohair Y. Al Halees, Marcelo Biscegli Jatene, Krishna Subramony Iyer, Cheul Lee, Rajesh Sharma, Yasutaka Hirata, Frank Edwin, Jorge Cervantes, James E. O’Brien, James St. Louis, James K. Kirklin, The COVID-19 International Congenital Heart Surgery Taskforce
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic currently gripping the globe is impacting the entire health care system with rapidly escalating morbidities and mortality. Although the infectious risk to the pediatric population appears low, the effects on children with congenital heart disease (CHD) remain poorly understood. The closure of congenital heart surgery programs worldwide to address the growing number of infected individuals could have an unintended impact on future health for COVID-19-negative patients with CHD. Pediatric and congenital heart surgeons, given their small numbers and close relationships, are uniquely positioned to collectively assess the impact of the pandemic on surgical practice and care of children with CHD. We present the results of an international survey sent to pediatric and congenital heart surgeons characterizing the early impact of COVID-19 on the care of patients with CHD.