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From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Orthopaedic departments have adopted business continuity models and guidelines for essential and non-essential surgeries to preserve hospital resources as well as protect patients an...

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Autores principales: Liow, Ming Han Lincoln, Tay, Kenny Xian Khing, Yeo, Nicholas Eng Meng, Tay, Darren Keng Jin, Goh, Seo Kiat, Koh, Joyce Suang Bee, Howe, Tet Sen, Tan, Andrew Hwee Chye
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7677721/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33225293
http://dx.doi.org/10.1302/2633-1462.16.BJO-2020-0036.R1
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author Liow, Ming Han Lincoln
Tay, Kenny Xian Khing
Yeo, Nicholas Eng Meng
Tay, Darren Keng Jin
Goh, Seo Kiat
Koh, Joyce Suang Bee
Howe, Tet Sen
Tan, Andrew Hwee Chye
author_facet Liow, Ming Han Lincoln
Tay, Kenny Xian Khing
Yeo, Nicholas Eng Meng
Tay, Darren Keng Jin
Goh, Seo Kiat
Koh, Joyce Suang Bee
Howe, Tet Sen
Tan, Andrew Hwee Chye
author_sort Liow, Ming Han Lincoln
collection PubMed
description The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Orthopaedic departments have adopted business continuity models and guidelines for essential and non-essential surgeries to preserve hospital resources as well as protect patients and staff. These guidelines broadly encompass reduction of ambulatory care with a move towards telemedicine, redeployment of orthopaedic surgeons/residents to the frontline battle against COVID-19, continuation of education and research through web-based means, and cancellation of non-essential elective procedures. However, if containment of COVID-19 community spread is achieved, resumption of elective orthopaedic procedures and transition plans to return to normalcy must be considered for orthopaedic departments. The COVID-19 pandemic also presents a moral dilemma to the orthopaedic surgeon considering elective procedures. What is the best treatment for our patients and how does the fear of COVID-19 influence the risk-benefit discussion during a pandemic? Surgeons must deliberate the fine balance between elective surgery for a patient’s wellbeing versus risks to the operating team and utilization of precious hospital resources. Attrition of healthcare workers or Orthopaedic surgeons from restarting elective procedures prematurely or in an unsafe manner may render us ill-equipped to handle the second wave of infections. This highlights the need to develop effective screening protocols or preoperative COVID-19 testing before elective procedures in high-risk, elderly individuals with comorbidities. Alternatively, high-risk individuals should be postponed until the risk of nosocomial COVID-19 infection is minimal. In addition, given the higher mortality and perioperative morbidity of patients with COVID-19 undergoing surgery, the decision to operate must be carefully deliberated. As we ramp-up elective services and get “back to business” as orthopaedic surgeons, we have to be constantly mindful to proceed in a cautious and calibrated fashion, delivering the best care, while maintaining utmost vigilance to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19 during this critical transition period. Cite this article: Bone Joint Open 2020;1-6:222–228.
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spelling pubmed-76777212020-11-20 From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic Liow, Ming Han Lincoln Tay, Kenny Xian Khing Yeo, Nicholas Eng Meng Tay, Darren Keng Jin Goh, Seo Kiat Koh, Joyce Suang Bee Howe, Tet Sen Tan, Andrew Hwee Chye Bone Jt Open Instructional Review The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Orthopaedic departments have adopted business continuity models and guidelines for essential and non-essential surgeries to preserve hospital resources as well as protect patients and staff. These guidelines broadly encompass reduction of ambulatory care with a move towards telemedicine, redeployment of orthopaedic surgeons/residents to the frontline battle against COVID-19, continuation of education and research through web-based means, and cancellation of non-essential elective procedures. However, if containment of COVID-19 community spread is achieved, resumption of elective orthopaedic procedures and transition plans to return to normalcy must be considered for orthopaedic departments. The COVID-19 pandemic also presents a moral dilemma to the orthopaedic surgeon considering elective procedures. What is the best treatment for our patients and how does the fear of COVID-19 influence the risk-benefit discussion during a pandemic? Surgeons must deliberate the fine balance between elective surgery for a patient’s wellbeing versus risks to the operating team and utilization of precious hospital resources. Attrition of healthcare workers or Orthopaedic surgeons from restarting elective procedures prematurely or in an unsafe manner may render us ill-equipped to handle the second wave of infections. This highlights the need to develop effective screening protocols or preoperative COVID-19 testing before elective procedures in high-risk, elderly individuals with comorbidities. Alternatively, high-risk individuals should be postponed until the risk of nosocomial COVID-19 infection is minimal. In addition, given the higher mortality and perioperative morbidity of patients with COVID-19 undergoing surgery, the decision to operate must be carefully deliberated. As we ramp-up elective services and get “back to business” as orthopaedic surgeons, we have to be constantly mindful to proceed in a cautious and calibrated fashion, delivering the best care, while maintaining utmost vigilance to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19 during this critical transition period. Cite this article: Bone Joint Open 2020;1-6:222–228. The British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery 2020-06-09 /pmc/articles/PMC7677721/ /pubmed/33225293 http://dx.doi.org/10.1302/2633-1462.16.BJO-2020-0036.R1 Text en © 2020 Author(s) et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Open Access This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attributions licence (CC-BY-NC-ND), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, but not for commercial gain, provided the original author and source are credited. See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
spellingShingle Instructional Review
Liow, Ming Han Lincoln
Tay, Kenny Xian Khing
Yeo, Nicholas Eng Meng
Tay, Darren Keng Jin
Goh, Seo Kiat
Koh, Joyce Suang Bee
Howe, Tet Sen
Tan, Andrew Hwee Chye
From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic
title From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short From “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort from “business continuity” to “back to business” for orthopaedic surgeons during the covid-19 pandemic
topic Instructional Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7677721/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33225293
http://dx.doi.org/10.1302/2633-1462.16.BJO-2020-0036.R1
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