Testing for COVID-19 can Make Surgery Safer

Routine testing patients for COVID-19 before surgery could down the risk of respiratory complications and save lives.

Routine testing for COVID-19 before surgery could down the risk of respiratory complications and save lives, according to the new study in the British Journal of Surgery.

The main benefit was seen before major surgery. Swab testing helps surgeons to identify asymptomatic COVID-19 positive patients to postpone their operation. Routine testing helps to prevent cross-infections also.

‘New study is calling for pre-operative swab testing for all patients as part of a broader strategy to continue surgery safely during the pandemic.’
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Led by researchers at the University of Birmingham, the COVID Surg Collaborative comprises of experts from over 130 countries.

Toolkit may help hospitals and healthcare providers around the world to get elective surgery 'up-and-running' again, after more than 28 million procedures were postponed in the first phase of the global pandemic.

Collaborative lead Dr. Aneel Bhangu, from the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery, at the University of Birmingham, commented: "Our findings demonstrate major variation between countries in the application of preoperative testing. Whilst a clear benefit to testing was seen, just 1 in 4 patients were screened for infection. This illustrates the need for global expansion and standardisation of swab testing worldwide.

"Preoperative swab testing should not be considered in isolation, but as part of a broader plan to minimise risks for patients, including setting up COVID-19 free surgical pathways in all hospitals performing elective surgery. For major surgery one serious postoperative complication was avoided for every 17 tests performed. We urge care providers to provide a routine swab test for all patients undergoing elective surgery whether or not they have symptoms."

The COVIDSurg toolkit will support individual hospitals, regions, and countries during a major global reorganization of surgical services during the pandemic and beyond, by:

Summarizing published data to support safe surgical practice;

Guiding effective surgical recovery plans; and

Creating a five-year vision of safe and effective surgery that addresses global challenges, including shortfalls in access to surgery that existed before the pandemic.

Dr. James Glasbey, study lead at the University of Birmingham, commented: "Surgery is an essential part of all health systems. On average, you will undergo 3 to 4 operations during your lifetime. Surgery remains the cure for most cancers and underpins the treatment of many non-infectious diseases.

"Our new toolkit will help everyone involved in surgical planning over the next 5 years, including providers, healthcare leaders, patients, governments, financers and industry. It addresses global challenges, but is locally adaptable to hospitals and environments with varying access to resources.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

COVIDSurg collaborative has provided data needed to support this change in the fastest time frame ever seen by a surgical research group, with data from 150,000 patients across 2000 hospitals collected over the past 9 months.

COVIDSurg researchers informed hospitals to set up 'COVID-19 free' zones for surgical patients to help save lives during the second wave of the pandemic - reducing the risk of death from lung infections associated with coronavirus.

They found that that patients who had their operation and hospital care in 'COVID-19 free' areas had better outcomes - improving the safety of surgery by having a strict policy that no patients treated for COVID-19 were mixed with those undergoing surgery.

Source-Medindia