Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Dec 2020
ReviewAnesthesia for Patients Undergoing Anesthesia for Elective Thoracic Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Consensus Statement From the Israeli Society of Anesthesiologists.
Anesthesia for thoracic surgery requires specialist intervention to provide adequate operating conditions and one-lung ventilation. The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is transmitted by aerosol and droplet spread. Because of its virulence, there is a risk of transmission to healthcare workers if appropriate preventive measures are not taken. ⋯ For these reasons, standard practice is to assume all patients are COVID-19 positive regardless of swab results. Here, the authors present the recommendations produced by the Israeli Society of Anesthesiologists for use in thoracic anesthesia for elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic for both the general population and COVID-19-confirmed patients. The objective of these recommendations is to make changes to some routine techniques in thoracic anesthesia to augment patients' and the medical staff's safety.