Precautions Taken During Orthopedic Surgery In Covid19
Close human contact is one of the primary reasons for the spread of COVID-19. As orthopedic surgeries involve various surgeons performing the surgery with close human contact, orthopedic hospitals must follow a strict orthopedic surgery protocol to prevent the virus’s spread. This article highlights some of the precautions orthopedic healthcare institutions must take during COVID-19.
Precautions to Take While Dealing with Orthopedic Surgeries during COVID-19
1. Hospital Hygiene
• Cleaning examination area in the emergency, mainly door handles, work stations, frequently used items with 1% hypochlorite/ Lysol.
• Nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff must not have any signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
• They must not have come in contact with COVID patients in the past 14 days.
• Frequent screening of the healthcare staff.
• PPE provision or at least an N95 mask and a surgical gown, examination gloves, and shoe covers.
• Regular training of the healthcare staff.
2. Attending Patients
• Availability of a three-layered surgical mask, hand sanitizer, and a disposable glove box at the emergency area entry point for patients and attendants.
• Mask for attendants.
• Obtaining the patient’s and attendant’s history of COVID-19 symptoms and contact.
• Isolation of patients and attendants if the COVID history is positive.
• Keep patients in isolation and convert every ward to isolation rooms.
• Keep a separate dressing room and plaster room for patients.
• Appropriate and careful disposal of dressing material, gauges, etc. of suspected patients.
3. Elective Patient Care
• Careful recording of every symptom of every patient.
• Proper investigation in the case of patients with a tumor or a pathological fracture or cauda equina.
• Surgical intervention must be deferred unless required on an urgent basis.
4. Trauma Patient Management Process
• Inform the hospital administration authority, SMO, or CMO.
• Keep a specialized COVID area in the triage for COVID-19 patients with trauma.
• Resuscitate the patient with a primary survey with splintage of the fractured limb.
• Do all the required pre-operative investigations along with COVID-19.
• If possible, get portable X-rays and ultrasound to prevent contamination of the radiology area.
• For CT scan and MRI, sterilize the area after investigating every patient as per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Closed fracture patients must wait for COVID-19 results to undergo surgery. However, surgeries for open fracture patients must not await COVID results. Such patients must be treated as COVID positive, and the hospital must ensure the utmost care to prevent the spread of the disease to the attendants or other patients.
In case the COVID result is positive, keep the patient in a COVID isolation ward, and employ the hospital’s COVID response team until the results are negative. If the results are negative, shift the patient to the orthopedic ward and discharge him at the earliest.
5. COVID Protocol
• Ensure conservative management wherever possible.
• Shift patients from the triage area to the operating room with strict adherence to sterilizing regulations.
• Keep a dedicated COVID operating room with trained staff.
• Follow preventive measures at all levels.
• Make every effort to minimize the duration of the surgery.
• Reduce blood spilling.
• Disposal of surgical waste appropriately.
• Maintain negative pressure ventilation
• Shift patients to COVID isolation wards after surgery and discharged after negative COVID results.
• Ensure proper care relating to physiotherapy, DVT prevention, and bedsores during the hospital stay.
Ranka Hospital – Orthopedic Surgical COVID Care
Ranka Hospital follows the most appropriate and prescribed orthopedic surgical COVID care. The hospital maintains isolation wards for patients, minimizes patient and attendant movements, expedites the operational process, and ensure discharge at the earliest.
The hospital has a separate team of surgeons attending COVID positive patients that come for orthopedic surgeries. Besides, it also maintains a follow-up OPD for dressing, suture removal, and plaster removal in a separate area. Visit or connect with Ranka Hospital for more details on orthopedic care during COVID and an effective orthopedic surgical treatment.
Reference Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7184166/
