Bioaerosols in orthopedic surgical procedures and implications for clinical practice in the times of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Orthopedic surgical procedures (OSPs) are known to generate bioaerosols, which could result in transmission of infectious diseases. Hence, this review was undertaken to analyse the available evidence on bioaerosols in OSPs, and their significance in COVID-19 transmission. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, medRxiv, bioRxiv and Lancet preprint databases for studies on bioaerosols in OSPs. Random-effects metanalysis was conducted to determine pooled estimates of key bioaerosol characteristics. Risk of bias was assessed by the RoB-SPEO tool; overall strength of evidence was assessed by the GRADE approach. RESULTS: 17 studies were included in the systematic review, and 6 in different sets of meta-analyses. The pooled estimate of particle density was 390.74 μg/m(3), Total Particle Count, 6.08 × 10(6)/m(3), and Microbial Air Contamination, 8.08 CFU/m(3). Small sized particles (</ = 0.5 μm) were found to be 37 and 1604 times more frequent in the aerosol cloud in comparison to medium and large sized particles respectively. 4 studies reported that haemoglobin could be detected in aerosols, and one study showed that HIV could be transmitted by blood aerosolized by electric saw and burr. The risk of bias for all studies in the review was determined to be high, and the quality of evidence, low. CONCLUSION: Whereas there is evidence to suggest that OSPs generate large amounts of bioaerosols, their potential to transmit infectious diseases like COVID-19 is questionable. High-quality research, as well as consensus minimum reporting guidelines for bioaerosol research in OSPs is the need of the hour.