Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Brazil

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the routine of emergency centers around the world, including in Brazil, where the crisis has affected the volume of major cardiac surgeries such as coronary artery bypass grafting. Objective To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of surgical procedures for coronary artery bypass grafting in Brazil. Methods An ecological, cross-sectional, quantitative, and descriptive study was conducted. Data for the period from July 2018 to June 2019 and from July 2020 to June 2021 were collected from SIHSUS using DATASUS/Tabwin. Results A global reduction of 26.58% was observed in the analyzed population, with on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting decreasing by 28.10%, and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting reduced by only 10.31%. Conclusion During the pandemic, there was a 26.58% reduction in the number of surgical procedures for myocardial revascularization in Brazil.