Introduction:

The current pandemic represents a challenge at the hospital level, cardiovascular surgery services have modified their operation and are constantly evaluating cardiovascular risk vs. COVID-19 risk.

Objective:

To characterize the operation of 23 cardiovascular centers in Colombia, in order to obtain information that allows the optimization of services and to avoid preventable deaths from cardiovascular causes.

Method:

Cross sectional observational study with a primary source of information. A convenience sample of 23 cardiovascular centers in Colombia was used.

Results:

It was found that 39.1% of the centers suspended activity sometime between January to May 2020 and 34.8% had a decrease in service activity of 76-100%. In the months of April and May the reduction was around 50% compared to the first two months. Of the 2,258 interventions performed, only 0.17% were on positive COVID-19 patients. The study shows that 60.1% of the services have presented problems with the use of personal protection elements. 17.4% of the centers perform PCR to detect the virus in the preoperative routine, 44% perform it in respiratory symptomatic patients.

Conclusions:

During the pandemic, the need is to detect in early phases all the possible infected patients, that require surgical procedures, adapt the schedules and promote an adequate use of personal protective equipment. It is urgent to apply strategies aimed at patients in which surgical procedures cannot be postponed to avoid second and third victims of the pandemic.

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