Surgery During Covid

Abstract

A new type of coronavirus that began in Wuhan, China in late 2019 has spread across the world since then. The virus has caused an outbreak of viral pneumonia, which has been named Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).Countrywide lockdown was enforced in March 2020 to curb the rising number of cases. The COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanied lockdown drastically impacted all routine healthcare services, including the surgery.Surgical disciplines have suffered from the reduced capacities on intensive care units (ICU) and normal wards.The effect of a perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection on the surgical outcome has recently been shown in a multicentre analysis by the COVIDSurg Collaborative, demonstrating an increase in pulmonary complications and 30-day mortality . Furthermore, the COVIDSurg Collaborative observed that asymptomatic patients after a SARS-CoV-2 infection can be safely operated ≥ 7 weeks after diagnosis of the infection. Scheduled operations in symptomatic patients should be postponed longer to prevent an increased 30-day mortalityThe pandemic lays health and medical services, including surgery units, under intensifying pressure.To date, no definitive treatments to the pandemic have been promoted