Attia A K, Omar U F, Kaliya-Perumal A K
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore.
Malays Orthop J. 2020 Nov;14(3):10-15. doi: 10.5704/MOJ.2011.003.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected most healthcare systems around the world. Routine care operations such as outpatient clinics and elective surgery remain badly hit. This situation cannot continue for long as it puts patients at a higher risk for complications due to delayed management. Hence, it is essential to resume routine, especially elective surgery. Regarding orthopaedic practice, various authors and organisations have come out with guidelines to resume elective surgeries. However, clear consensus and common strategies need be derived. With this motive, we conducted a review of the literature for guidelines to resume elective orthopaedic surgery amid COVID-19 pandemic and shortlisted scholarly publications and information from regional organisations. We have summarised the information and derived an organised algorithm considering the guidelines provided by various sources. In this extraordinary time, guidelines come in as a relief for every surgeon who is in a dilemma whether to resume electives or not. Putting safety first, these guidelines or suitable versions should be followed at all levels wherever possible to avoid the lack of trained manpower in the event of staff morbidity.
新冠疫情已经影响了全球大部分医疗体系。门诊诊所和择期手术等常规医疗业务仍然受到严重冲击。这种情况不能持续太久，因为它会使患者因治疗延迟而面临更高的并发症风险。因此，恢复常规医疗，尤其是择期手术至关重要。关于骨科医疗实践，众多作者和组织已经出台了恢复择期手术的指南。然而，需要达成明确的共识并制定共同的策略。出于这一目的，我们对文献进行了综述，以获取在新冠疫情期间恢复择期骨科手术的指南，并筛选了学术出版物以及来自地区组织的信息。我们总结了这些信息，并根据各种来源提供的指南得出了一个有条理的算法。在这个特殊时期，指南对于每一位纠结是否要恢复择期手术的外科医生来说都是一种慰藉。将安全放在首位，在各级尽可能遵循这些指南或合适的版本，以避免在工作人员发病时出现缺乏训练有素的人力的情况。
