Perioperative Considerations During Emergency General Surgery in the Era of COVID-19: A U.S. Experience

Georgios Orthopoulos; Gladys L Fernandez; Jessica L Dahle; Elizabeth Casey; Nicolas Jabbour

doi:10.1089/lap.2020.0266

Perioperative Considerations During Emergency General Surgery in the Era of COVID-19: A U.S. Experience

J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A. 2020 May;30(5):481-484. doi: 10.1089/lap.2020.0266. Epub 2020 Apr 27.

Authors

Georgios Orthopoulos¹, Gladys L Fernandez¹, Jessica L Dahle¹, Elizabeth Casey¹, Nicolas Jabbour¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.

PMID: 32339074
DOI: 10.1089/lap.2020.0266

Abstract

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) strain has caused a pandemic that affects everyday clinical practice. Care of patients with acute surgical problems is adjusted to minimize exposing health care providers to this highly contagious virus. Our goal is to describe a specific and reproducible perioperative protocol aiming to keep health care providers safe and, simultaneously, not compromise standard of care for surgical patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; emergency general surgery; perioperative protocol.

MeSH terms

Algorithms
COVID-19
Clinical Protocols / standards
Coronavirus Infections*
Emergencies
General Surgery / standards*
Humans
Infection Control / standards*
Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / prevention & control*
Massachusetts
Pandemics*
Patient Care Team / standards
Perioperative Care / standards*
Pneumonia, Viral*
Surgical Procedures, Operative / standards*
United States