As hospitals work to address a massive backlog of surgeries that were put off due to the first wave of COVID-19, a new global study is suggesting a way to continue to move people through the operating room despite a second wave.
The study by the CovidSurg Collaborative, which includes Western University and is led by the University of Birmingham, recommends establishing 'COVID-19 free' areas in hospitals. It's a move researchers have indicated could reduce the risk of serious complications or death from lung infections associated with with the virus.
"When we say ‘COVID-free areas’, we are talking about creating spaces that have no mixing with COVID patients throughout the entire surgical flow. That includes every stage from pre-admit, to surgery, intensive care and the ward where patients recover,” Janet Martin, associate professor at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, said in a statement. “This research shows every hospital should aim to have intentional COVID-free areas for surgical patients.”
Between the start of the pandemic and mid-April, researchers examined data from 9,171 adult patients undergoing elective surgery in 55 counties in both small independent hospitals and large hospitals. What they found was that pulmonary complications, perioperative COVID-19, and death after surgery was lower for patients whose treatment took place in a COVID free area.
Researchers noted only 27 per cent of patients who participated in the study received care in the protected area.
More than 300 million surgeries take place worldwide each year. In Canada alone, it is estimated implementing a COVID-19 free surgical zone would prevent tens of thousands of deaths among surgical patients.
The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit Grant, was published Wednesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.