Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, National University Heart Centre, Singapore; SingVaSC, Singapore Vascular Surgical Collaborative, Singapore.
Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, National University Heart Centre, Singapore.
J Vasc Surg. 2020 Oct;72(4):1166-1172. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2020.05.026. Epub 2020 May 23.
Singapore was one of the first countries to be affected by COVID-19, with the index patient diagnosed on January 23, 2020. For 2 weeks in February, we had the highest number of COVID-19 cases behind China. In this article, we summarize the key national and institutional policies that were implemented in response to COVID-19. We also describe in detail, with relevant data, how our vascular surgery practice has changed because of these policies and COVID-19. We show that with a segregated team model, the vascular surgery unit can still function while reducing risk of cross-contamination. We explain the various strategies adopted to reduce outpatient and inpatient volume. We provide a detailed breakdown of the type of vascular surgical cases that were performed during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it with preceding months. We discuss our operating room and personal protective equipment protocols in managing a COVID-19 patient and share how we continue surgical training amid the pandemic. We also discuss the challenges we might face in the future as COVID-19 regresses.
新加坡是最早受到 COVID-19 影响的国家之一，首例确诊病例出现在 2020 年 1 月 23 日。在 2 月的两周内，新加坡的 COVID-19 病例数仅次于中国。在本文中，我们总结了针对 COVID-19 实施的国家和机构的主要政策。我们还详细描述了这些政策和 COVID-19 对我们血管外科实践的影响，以及我们如何通过隔离团队模式在降低交叉感染风险的同时维持血管外科的运作。我们还介绍了为减少门诊和住院量而采取的各种策略。我们提供了 COVID-19 大流行期间实施的血管外科手术类型的详细分类，并将其与前几个月进行比较。我们讨论了在管理 COVID-19 患者时手术室和个人防护设备的使用方案，以及如何在疫情期间继续进行外科培训。我们还讨论了 COVID-19 消退后可能面临的挑战。
