key: cord-0824461-b8vp5l41
authors: Elkoundi, Abdelghafour; Jaafari, Abdelhamid; Ababou, Mourad; Boubekri, Ayoub; Baite, Abdelouahed; Bensghir, Mustapha
title: Preoperative assessment organization in the time of the outbreak COVID-19
date: 2020-05-20
journal: J Clin Anesth
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2020.109882
sha: 8c70d2119066cee25876aebad7450b309abdade1
doc_id: 824461
cord_uid: b8vp5l41

• Maintaining the health of clinical workforce during COVID-19 pandemic is a top priority to avoiding collapse of health care system. • Following extraordinary measures could greatly reduce the risk of cross-contamination for both staff and non-infected patients. • Airway assessment is a critical time for the consultant anesthetist. • Projecting the airway examination via a mirror placed in front of the patient can be a useful idea to minimizing viral contamination.

J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f 3 To reduce the density of patients in the patient-waiting area, only five patients are allowed to be present at the same time with a minimum-security distance of 1.5m between each one. The patients who cannot be roomed immediately, are asked to wait outside the facility (preferably in a personal vehicle), and are contacted by mobile phone when a waiting seat becomes available. Prior to facility entry, they are provided with a surgical mask to wear.

Accompanying persons are not allowed until necessary.

Since the PAC was designated as a moderate risk area in our hospital, we recommend that staff-members wear surgical masks and a hat. For members who may be in close contact with the patient, disposable gowns, single-use latex gloves and if available, goggles or reusable face visors are also used.

When the patient has to be examined on the examination bed, he is asked to turn his face to the opposite side of the CA. Airway assessment is a risky time for the CA as he can be in close proximity to the patient's airway. In order to keep the patient's and CA's faces apart, we have opted for projecting the airway examination via a mirror placed in front of the patient (Fig 1) . This assessment was the last one to be made for the patient. After completion of the examination, the CA removes their gloves and gown, washes their hands, and uses an alcoholbased hand sanitizer to kill any remaining microorganisms. By following extraordinary measures, the risk of cross-contamination for both staff and non-infected patients could be greatly reduced while continuing to provide high levels of care. Projecting the airway assessment via a mirror placed in front of the patient can be a useful idea to minimizing viral contamination.

Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China

Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

We would like to express our special appreciation and thanks to Becky Johnston for her great contribution in reviewing this work.