At the London Spine Unit we have a patient selection process before surgery to ensure the safety of patients and staff during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Any patient undergoing spinal surgery needs to go through a selection process that can identify risks.
Our selection process is based on ;
- Patient Risk Factors
- Severity of Symptoms and diagnosis
- Type of Surgery
- Staff Testing
- Safety considerations related to Covid-19 Exposure
- Travel safety
Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs) The following procedures are currently considered to be potentially infectious AGPs for COVID-19 (this is still under consideration by PHE and may be subjected to change): 1. Intubation, extubating and related procedures e.g. manual ventilation and open suctioning of the respiratory tract (including the upper respiratory tract) 2. Tracheotomy/tracheostomy procedures (insertion/open suctioning/removal) 3. Bronchoscopy and upper ENT airway procedures that involve suctioning 4. Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy where there is open suctioning of the upper respiratory tract 5. Surgery and post mortem procedures involving high-speed devices 6. Some dental procedures (e.g. high-speed drilling) 7. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) e.g. Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure Ventilation (BiPAP) and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Ventilation (CPAP) 8. High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV) 9. Induction of sputum 10. High flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) 11. For patients with suspected/confirmed COVID-19, any of these potentially infectious AGPs should only be carried out only when essential.
See PHE for any updates: The management of emergency spinal surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
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