Anesthesia management of ophthalmic surgery for patient with suspected/confirmed COVID-19 -Saudi Anesthesia Society guidelines-

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic. With a mortality rate reaching up to 5%, healthcare professionals treating patients with COVID-19 are at a significantly higher risk for exposure themselves. Given the rapidly progressing rate of COVID-19, there is...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nauman Ahmad, Abdul Zahoor, Abdulaziz E Ahmad, Abdelazeem El Dawlatly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-01-01
Series:Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.saudija.org/article.asp?issn=1658-354X;year=2020;volume=14;issue=3;spage=355;epage=358;aulast=
Description
Summary:The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic. With a mortality rate reaching up to 5%, healthcare professionals treating patients with COVID-19 are at a significantly higher risk for exposure themselves. Given the rapidly progressing rate of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for developing guidelines within each specialty. This article discusses guidelines specifically for anesthesiologists dealing with ophthalmic surgeries with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. Anesthesiologists always work in the proximity of the patient's face while performing either ocular regional anesthesia or while managing the airway in the process of intubation/extubation. Within these guidelines, the emphasis is provided on thorough preoperative screening to identify COVID-19 patients and to prevent the exposure of healthcare staff by following standard personal protective equipment (PPE) precautions.
ISSN:1658-354X