Agencies

The researchers project that worldwide 72.3 per cent of planned surgeries would be cancelled through the peak period of COVID-19 related disruption, adding that most cancelled surgeries will be for non-cancer conditions.

More than 580,000 planned surgeries in India might be cancelled or delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study conducted by an international consortium.

The study, published in the British Journal of Surgery, has projected that, based on a 12-week period of peak disruption to hospital services due to COVID-19, around 28.4 million elective surgeries worldwide will be cancelled or postponed in 2020.

This will lead to patients facing a lengthy wait for their health issues to be resolved, according to the research conducted by the CovidSurg Collaborative, a research network of over 5,000 surgeons from 120 countries focused on the impact of COVID-19 on surgical care. The study was led by members based in the UK, Benin, Ghana, India, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa and the US.