Impact of COVID-19 in the Hospital Activities of a Cardiology Department: Case of the General Hospital Idrissa Pouye in Dakar, Senegal in 2020

Introduction: In Senegal, at the end of 2020, there were a cumulative 18,728 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 390 deaths. Patients with cardiovascular disease were the most affected by this morbidity and mortality. This is why we were given the objective of analyzing the effect of COVID-19 on the hospital activities of a cardiology service in Senegal. In this case that of the General Idrissa Pouye Hospital (HOGIP), by comparing admissions, deaths, average monthly length of stay and overall annual mortality of the service in 2020 with each of the four previous years. Methodology: This was a descriptive study from January 2016 to December 2020 by retrospective data collection. The collection ran from January 5, 2021 to March 30, 2021. Statistical analysis was performed with Rstudio 4.1.0 statistical analysis software. We expressed these variables as their absolute values and then we calculated the difference between the absolute value of 2020 and that of each of the previous years, both on a monthly and annual scale for each of the variables. Finally, we calculated the annual global mortality (each year from 2012 to 2020). Results: The total number of admissions in 2020 was significantly lower than in 2016 (-7.59%), 2017 (-8.78%) and 2018 (-2.16%). On the other hand, it was clearly higher than that of 2019 (+12.83%). A record in admissions was found during the month of December 2020 compared to 2016 (+64.70%), 2017 (+95.34%), 2018 (+127.02%) and 2019 (+127.02%). The average monthly length of stay in 2020 was less than or equal to those of 2016 (-7.62%), 2017 (-8.57%), 2018 (-3.03%) and 2019 (-0.00%). The total number of annual deaths in 2020 was significantly lower than in 2016 (-24.39%), 2017 (-27.06%), 2018 (-39.81%) and 2019 (-23.46%). Over the 5 years of our study, the year 2020 was the least lethal in service with an overall annual mortality of 9.79%. Conclusion: COVID-19 being a viral transmissible pathology with pulmonary tropism, its mortality is due to both respiratory failure and cardiovascular damage. Its morbidity and mortality are supported by major non-communicable diseases and their risk factors (Heart disease, Asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Diabetes, Smoking, Obesity, etc.). It, therefore, follows that the considerable drop in overall annual mortality in the service in 2020 can only be explained by a massive diversion of patients, to epidemic treatment centers and infectious diseases services, who should have, in normal times, been taken care of in cardiology departments until November 2020. In conclusion, we will say that the authorities should not relegate to the background, at any time, the fight against major non-communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases, even in times of an infectious disease pandemic. They should capacity early cardiology services to maintain the offer of care and follow-up even in infectious and contagious contexts.