Summary:
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-
2), has evolved rapidly as a global pandemic stretching the
healthcare systems worldwide to their limits. This pandemic
has resulted in significant changes to surgical practice across
the world. Surgeons need to react immediately to this
unexpected clinical challenge in a customized and dynamic
approach to the selection, screening, planning, and conduct
of surgery for their patients.
This current literature will review various international
society guidelines to provide a set of recommendations to
safely accommodate the exponentially rising cases of SARSCoV-
2 infected patients without compromising the care of
emergency surgery and oncological patients or jeopardizing
the well-being of hospital staff.
The recommendations include guidance for selection and
screening of patients during different phases of COVID-19
spread throughout the country. Personal protective equipment
requirements for safety measures are also reviewed for each
phase as minimum requirements. We also provide
recommendations on the patient prioritization for surgery,
selection of surgical techniques to reduce transmission and
exposure risk, operating room set up and conduct of general
surgery.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, every surgical unit needs
to follow clear guidelines to ensure both patient and staff
safety. These current guidelines may assist to provide
guidance to units in developing their own protocols.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19. Guidelines.
Recommendations
(J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2020; 38: 116-121)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/jbcps.v38i0.47343