Perioperative Anaesthetic Management of Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that started in Wuhan, China, has spread to 210 countries, infecting 2,726,274 patients and causing 191,075 deaths by April 24, 2020, and has turned into a global threat. Although various measures have been taken to stop human-to-human transmission in many countries, health care workers are in the high-risk zone for transmission as they deliver patient care. It is evident that anaesthesiologists will keep encountering patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection who will undergo emergency surgeries. Anaesthesiologists carry a higher risk of being infected during aerosol-creating procedures, hence appropriate protective measures should be taken, both during preoperative evaluation and management anaesthesia. Anaesthesia management of patients with COVID-19 also is a challenge for anaesthesiologists as it is an infection that may affect not only the respiratory system but also other vital organs. The aims of this review are to provide prudent safety measures to protect anaesthesiologists and other health care workers in the operating theatre and recommendations or the safest anaesthesia management of patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 undergoing surgery.