[The Hand Trauma Registry of the German Society for Hand Surgery: Analysis of National Treatment Trends During the COVID-19 Pandemic].

BACKGROUND

The Hand Trauma Registry (HTR) of the German Society for Hand Surgery (DGH) was established to systematically and nationally record hand injuries and their treatment. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on injury patterns, mechanisms of trauma, and the treatment of hand injuries.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

In this retrospective multicenter registry study, 14,072 patients with a total of 41,119 surgically treated hand injuries were analyzed from the HTR. Data were grouped according to five defined pandemic phases and compared with regard to age, injury pattern, insurance type, mechanism of injury, and treatment timing (significance level p<0.05).

RESULTS

The age distribution changed significantly during the pandemic (p<0.001): during the first lockdown, the proportion of children and adolescents decreased, while the 19-30-year age group was more frequently affected. Isolated hand injuries occurred less often (32.1% vs. 42.7% pre-pandemic), while the frequency of multiple injuries increased (p<0.001). Among patients with statutory accident insurance, fall injuries rose from 10.9% to 19.2%, while circular saw injuries significantly increased among those with public health insurance during the first lockdown (p<0.001). The time to surgical treatment decreased from 52.6 to 27.1 hours (p<0.001), while the proportion of definitive treatments remained consistently above 90% across all phases.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant effects on the epidemiology, mechanisms of injury, and timing of treatment for hand injuries in Germany. These changes illustrate how external crises can influence medical care delivery. The HTR enables data-based analysis of such developments and supports evidence-based planning of future treatment and prevention strategies.