Ramping Up Delivery of Cardiac Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Guidance Statement From The Society of Thoracic Surgeons COVID-19 Task Force.
Publication/Presentation Date
8-1-2020
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound global impact. Its rapid transmissibility has transformed healthcare delivery and forced countries to adopt strict measures to contain its spread. The vast majority of the United States cardiac surgical programs have deferred all but truly emergent/urgent operative procedures in an effort to reduce the burden on the healthcare system and to mobilize resources to combat the pandemic surge. While the number of COVID-19 cases continue to increase worldwide, the incidence of new cases has begun to decline in many North American cities. This "flattening of the curve" has prompted interest in reopening the economy, relaxing public health restrictions, and resuming nonurgent healthcare delivery. The following document provides a template whereby adult cardiac surgical programs may begin to ramp-up the care delivery in a deliberate and graded fashion as the COVID-19 pandemic burden begins to ease. "Resuscitating" the timely delivery of care is guided by three principles: (1) Collaborate to permit increased case volumes, balancing the clinical needs of patients awaiting surgical procedures with the local resources available within each healthcare system. (2) Prioritize patients awaiting elective procedures while proactively engaging all stakeholders, focusing on those with high-risk anatomy, changing/symptomatic clinical status, and, once these variables have been addressed, prioritizing by waiting times. (3) Reevaluate local conditions continuously to assess for any increase in admissions due to a recrudescence of cases, to assure adequate resources to care for patients, and to monitor in-hospital infectious transmissions to both patients and healthcare workers.
Volume
110
Issue
2
First Page
712
Last Page
717
ISSN
1552-6259
Published In/Presented At
Engelman, D. T., Lother, S., George, I., Ailawadi, G., Atluri, P., Grant, M. C., Haft, J. W., Hassan, A., Legare, J. F., Whitman, G., Arora, R. C., & Society of Thoracic Surgeons COVID-19 Task Force and Workforce for Adult Cardiac and Vascular Surgery (2020). Ramping Up Delivery of Cardiac Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Guidance Statement From The Society of Thoracic Surgeons COVID-19 Task Force. The Annals of thoracic surgery, 110(2), 712–717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.05.002
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
32407853
Department(s)
Department of Surgery
Document Type
Article