Peri‐operative COVID‐19 infection in urgent elective surgery during a pandemic surge period: a retrospective observational cohort study (22 October 2020)

Summary

Maintaining safe elective surgical activity during the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic is challenging and it is not clear how COVID‐19 may impact peri‐operative morbidity and mortality in this population. Therefore, adaptations to normal care pathways are required.

Here, Kane et al. establish if implementation of a bespoke peri‐operative care bundle for urgent elective surgery during a pandemic surge period can deliver a low COVID‐19‐associated complication profile.

Kane et al. present a single‐centre retrospective cohort study from a tertiary care hospital of patients planned for urgent elective surgery during the initial COVID‐19 surge in the UK between 29 March and 12 June 2020.