Faculty of Dental Medicine, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hadassah and Hebrew University Medical Center, PO Box 12272, 9112102, Jerusalem, Israel.
Faculty of Dental Medicine, Department of Periodontology, Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Clin Oral Investig. 2021 Aug;25(8):5001-5008. doi: 10.1007/s00784-021-03809-8. Epub 2021 Feb 4.
To examine the effectiveness of an empiric protection protocol during oral surgical treatments in a COVID-19 pandemic area and to evaluate the potential effect of postponed dental procedures on the frequency of facial infections during a lockdown period.
We performed a retrospective analysis of a case series of a broad-spectrum of oral surgeries in a COVID-19 pandemic area. Data collection included patient age, type of procedure performed, and COVID-19 status of staff and patients. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Between February 21 and April 23, 2020, 1471 patients were treated in the outpatient clinic (n=1404) and under general anesthesia (n=67). All procedures were carried out under a strict empiric protective protocol that included patient screening, personal protective equipment allocation protocol, frequent staff testing, and patient testing before general anesthesia. Treatments included emergency and urgent elective procedures. Only one staff member was confirmed positive for COVID-19 during routine weekly testing, and an independent epidemiologic investigation suggested he was likely infected outside of hospital facilities.
Our empiric protective protocol was found to be effective in preventing staff cross-infection with COVID-19 in an oral and maxillofacial surgery setting.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that provides data regarding oral surgical activity in a COVID-19 pandemic area. Our suggested protective protocol may assist oral surgeons in continuing dental services in a safe manner.
在 COVID-19 大流行地区的口腔外科治疗中，研究经验性保护方案的效果，并评估牙科手术推迟对封锁期间面部感染频率的潜在影响。
我们对 COVID-19 大流行地区广谱口腔手术的病例系列进行了回顾性分析。数据收集包括患者年龄、手术类型以及医护人员和患者的 COVID-19 状态。使用描述性统计数据进行数据分析。
2020 年 2 月 21 日至 4 月 23 日，1471 名患者在门诊（n=1404）和全身麻醉下（n=67）接受治疗。所有手术均在严格的经验性保护方案下进行，包括患者筛查、个人防护设备分配方案、频繁的员工检测以及全身麻醉前的患者检测。治疗包括紧急和紧急择期手术。仅在常规每周检测中发现一名工作人员的 COVID-19 检测结果呈阳性，独立的流行病学调查表明他很可能在医院设施外感染。
我们的经验性保护方案在口腔颌面外科环境中被发现可有效防止医护人员交叉感染 COVID-19。
据我们所知，这是第一份提供 COVID-19 大流行地区口腔外科活动数据的报告。我们建议的保护方案可能有助于口腔外科医生以安全的方式继续提供牙科服务。
