Background A number and a variety of surgical interventions were highly affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Most of the elective operations were discontinued with the fear of exacerbating the disease in patients and spreading it among healthcare professionals. Objective The objective of this study was to report postoperative rates of COVID-19 in patients who underwent emergency and urgent surgery during the pandemic and to determine a safe algorithm in order to propose an ideal approach for surgeries. Patients and methods A total of 162 patients being operated upon emergency or urgent causes between March 11 and May 31 2020 were included in the study. Safety measures advised by the World Health Organization were applied. The patients’ operative data and postoperative COVID-19 status were recorded and statistically evaluated. Results Surgical interventions were required for skin cancer, upper extremity trauma, soft tissue infections, maxillofacial trauma, lower extremity trauma and other causes. Local anesthesia was used for 127 patients (78.4%). General anesthesia was used for 28 patients (17,3%). Two of 162 patients contracted COVID-19 postoperatively on days 15 and 21, respectively. No statistical significance was found between surgery and anesthesia types regarding COVID-19 risk. Conclusion It appears that emergency and urgent surgeries can be performed safely. However, this relies upon adequate safety measures being taken with regards to screening for COVID-19 antigen positivity in patients preoperatively. Further evidence is required to determine the safety of elective surgeries.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, plastic surgery, maxillofacial surgery, preoperative testing, 【초록키워드】 pandemic, healthcare professionals, Cancer, risk, Intervention, surgical, novel coronavirus disease, Antigen, infections, outbreak, Algorithm, Patient, Safety measure, trauma, Evidence, Safe, World Health Organization, Local anesthesia, surgical intervention, tissue, elective surgeries, causes, statistical significance, measure, MOST, approach, objective, operative, Result, performed, affected, was used, the disease, evaluated, required, applied, appear, determine, postoperative, variety, cause, statistically, were recorded, COVID-19 in patient, exacerbating, maxillofacial trauma, 【제목키워드】 assessment,