|
?:abstract
|
-
BACKGROUND: Despite the rapid rise of publications pertaining to COVID-19, there is a lack of data examining patient outcomes following elective procedures performed during this pandemic. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this investigation is to: 1) examine the postoperative outcomes of patients that underwent elective procedures in an ambulatory surgery center during the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) share the preoperative screening and patient selection protocol implemented in our center. METHODS: Elective procedures performed in an ambulatory surgery center between March 1, 2020 and April 16, 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcomes were occurrence of COVID-19 related postoperative complications. These complications include pneumonia, stroke, myocardial infarction, and clotting disorders. Predictive variables analyzed in this study were: age, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) score, and specialty conducting the procedure, operating time, and the type of plastic and reconstructive surgery procedure being performed. RESULTS: A total of 300 consecutive electives cases were included in the study. The most common procedures were pain management (43.0%), gastrointestinal (26.0%), aesthetic (14.0%), orthopedic (10.3%), reconstructive (4.0%), otorhinolaryngology (2.0%), and gynecology (0.67%). The median age of the cohort was 54.6 years (range, 1-90 years) and the median procedure time was 47 minutes (range, 11-304 minutes). COVID-19 related symptoms or complications following the procedures were not observed in any of the patients nor the healthcare care personnel. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of 300 electives cases, we found no patients with COVID-19 related symptoms postoperatively. This suggests that with proper preoperative screening and patient selection, elective procedures can be safely performed in an ASC during this pandemic.
|
![[This page as RDF]](https://research.tib.eu/covid-19/static/rdf-icon.gif){kind=icon}