Perioperative Anesthesia Precautions in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Practical Review

The coronavirus disease 2019 has been defined as COVID-19 in February 2020 by the World Health Organization. It rapidly resulted in an epidemic throughout China and spread over the world causing a pandemic. Anesthetic procedures such as tracheal intubation, non-invasive ventilation, tracheotomy, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, manual balloon-mask ventilation before the intubation, and bronchoscopy in operating rooms are aerosol-generating medical procedures. In the field of anesthesiology, infection control includes protection of anesthesia workers and the patients from infection, and the prevention of contamination of all anesthesia devices, especially the anesthesia machine. In maxillofacial surgery, anesthesia management has some unique characteristics because the procedures in maxillofacial surgery are aerosol-forming, resulting in the resulting in the aerosols dispersing into the environment. It is considered that the global effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 infection will continue for longer. Thus, the anesthesiologist working in the oral and maxillofacial surgery operating rooms should closely follow the current guidelines regarding the pandemic and take the necessary precautions to protect patients and staff from the risk of infection. Clinicians should provide their anesthesia precautions and management program during COVİD-19 pandemic for general anesthesia settings in oral and maxillofacial surgery.