Severe cases of diabetes requiring amputation recorded record levels in the first months of 2022, reflecting the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s what an unprecedented study by the Brazilian Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery (Sbacv) released this Thursday (23) points out.
The disease, which has been growing for at least ten years among the Brazilian population, is associated with vascular problems.
The survey indicates that, every day, about 82 Brazilians needed to amputate a lower limb, after vascular complications in the first months of 2022. The index represents three amputations every hour – a record, according to the research, which is based on data from the Ministry of Health.
In absolute numbers, the states that most performed lower limb amputation procedures in the public system were São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. The four states account for more than 40% of all surgical interventions.
History of daily procedures in Brazil:
- 2012: 52
- 2013: 54
… - 2016: 63
- 2018: 71
…. - 2020: 75
- 2021: 79
- 2022: 82 (until March)
For the experts consulted by the CNN the increase in the number of procedures of this type is a consequence of the social isolation caused by the pandemic, a period in which clinical treatments against diabetes were suspended.
Vascular surgeon and director of Sbacv, Mateus Borges, explained that the health crisis caused patients to evade treatments, who were afraid of becoming infected by the virus. He recalled that people with severe cases of diabetes require long periods of hospitalization, which did not happen during the pandemic.
“These data demonstrate the impact of the pandemic on the care and quality of life of patients with this disease. Patients with severe cases of diabetes, who develop ulcers, require long periods of hospitalization or readmissions, with consequent periods of loss or absence from work, early retirement and, sometimes, a drop in self-esteem, depression or creating a condition of dependence on family members. or friends,” said the doctor.
Source: CNN Brasil
