The Perioperative Experience of Patients Undergoing Spinal Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spreading worldwide has caused\rmany restrictions in the lives of individuals as well as in hospitals. There is a need to examine\rthe effects of COVID-19 and these restriction practices on patients undergoing surgical\rintervention.\rMethods: The study sample consisted of 20 patients who underwent elective spinal surgery\rduring the COVID-19 pandemic in a training and research hospital in Istanbul. Data were\rcollected via semi-structured interviews by using telephone. The content analysis was used.\rResults: In this study, the patients stated that they experienced anxiety during the decisionmaking\rprocess, were forced to make decision due to the difficulties they experienced, and\rovercame their concerns by trusting the hospital and their doctors. Most of the patients\rstated that they had fear of transmission of infection during their hospitalization and\rexpressed that they had trust and distrust of preventive measures taken at the hospital. In\raddition to patients who felt ready to be discharged after surgery, there were also patients\rwho stated that they wanted to stay in the hospital more due to pain. Most of the patients\rstated that they tried to cope with the problems such as wound care and pain at home by\rthemselves.\rConclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on patients who need surgical\rcare. In addition to the implementation of preventive measures against infection, the\ruse of technological applications such as telehealth for educating patients before the surgery\rand follow-up after surgery can improve the experience of patients in the perioperative\rprocess during the pandemic.