key: cord-0842443-7mrcyal8
authors: Bhattacharya, Kaushik; Bhattacharya, Neela
title: ASI’s Consensus Guidelines: ABCs of What to Do and What Not During the COVID-19 Pandemic
date: 2020-08-28
journal: Indian J Surg
DOI: 10.1007/s12262-020-02585-1
sha: ea3b97058b70ef3aeaef20d07e3e0a1ecadab9f4
doc_id: 842443
cord_uid: 7mrcyal8

nan

Dear Editor in Chief, I read with interest the 'ASI's Consensus Guidelines: ABCs of What to Do and What Not During the COVID-19 Pandemic' [1] , and I must thank all the authors for bringing out these much needed guidelines especially for the surgeons like us practicing in the peripheral areas of the country.

The guidelines mention that 'A separate consent explaining morbidity and mortality of surgery is advisable'. I would like to inform the authors that Indian Journal of Surgery is probably the first Journal in Surgery to publish such an informed consent form for the surgeons operating during COVID-19 [2] . It would be beneficial for the surgeons to use that consent form as a model and modify it according to their respective practices. I will also request the ASI Consensus Guideline to endorse that consent form.

Another addition I request to the author to include in ASI's Consensus Guidelines is regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) management while performing surgery inside the operation theatre. Since it is a ' new kid on the block' and not many of us are used to PPE, it causes severe sweating and dehydration during long hours of surgery which may cause tiredness resulting in surgical error, and so it is mandatory to the surgeons to be adequately hydrated before donning PPE.

Finally, surgeons cannot remain safe inside the operation theatre if there are some lacunae from the anaesthesiologist side. Therefore, ASI's Consensus Guidelines should have few words on the safe anaesthesia for a safe surgery during COVID-19.

Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

ASI's consensus guidelines: ABCs of what to do and what not during the COVID-19 pandemic

Informed consent for surgery during COVID-19

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