Infection prevention and surgery in the pandemic era

Helen Umpleby; Rebecca Houghton

doi:10.1016/j.mpsur.2021.09.015

Infection prevention and surgery in the pandemic era

Surgery (Oxf). 2021 Nov;39(11):722-729. doi: 10.1016/j.mpsur.2021.09.015. Epub 2021 Oct 24.

Authors

Helen Umpleby^{1

2}, Rebecca Houghton^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ is a Specialist Registrar in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at University Hospital Southampton, UK. Conflicts of interest: none declared.
² is a Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK. Conflicts of interest: none declared.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on surgical specialties. COVID-19 carries a significant risk to the surgical patient and the healthcare workers looking after them, with an increased incidence of pulmonary complications and mortality in patients who test positive perioperatively. Appropriate infection prevention and control measures are critical to ensure appropriate care is given and to reduce the risk of onward transmission. This article will discuss the measures that have been instigated and contributed to infection control in surgery, such as testing, patient isolation, personal protective equipment and ventilation. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to healthcare workers across many specialities working together to provide essential clinical care. This collaborative approach is critical to maintain excellent infection prevention and control practices required during this pandemic, which protect patients and preserve surgical services.

Keywords: COVID-19; environmental cleaning; hand hygiene; infection prevention and control; surgery; ventilation.

Publication types

Review