Academic Editors: Manuel Martínez-Sellés and Alpo Vuorio
Background: The
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected healthcare
systems around the world. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of
cardiologists regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the clinical
practice patterns for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: A
multicenter clinician survey was sent to 300 cardiologists working in 22
provinces in China. The survey collected demographic information and inquired
about their perceptions of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected ACS clinical
practice patterns. Results: The survey was completed by 211 (70.3%)
cardiologists, 82.5% of whom were employed in tertiary hospitals, and 52.1%
reported more than 10 years of clinical cardiology practice. Most respondents
observed a reduction in ACS inpatients and outpatients in their hospitals during
the pandemic. Only 29.9% of the respondents had access to a dedicated catheter
room for the treatment of COVID-19-positive ACS patients. Most respondents stated
that the COVID-19 pandemic had varying degrees of effect on the treatment of
acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), acute non-ST-segment
elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and unstable angina. Compared with the
assumed non-pandemic period, in the designed clinical questions, the selection of
coronary interventional therapy for STEMI, NSTEMI, and unstable angina during the
COVID-19 pandemic was significantly decreased (all p