Anesthesiologist behavior and anesthesia machine use in the operating room during the COVID-19 pandemic: awareness and c
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SPECIAL FEATURE: SPECIAL ARTICLE Anesthesia in the Time of COVID-19
Anesthesiologist behavior and anesthesia machine use in the operating room during the COVID‑19 pandemic: awareness and changes to cope with the risk of infection transmission Shinju Obara1 Received: 8 June 2020 / Accepted: 14 August 2020 © Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists 2020
Abstract The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection] first appeared in December 2019 in China and is now spreading worldwide. Because SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted via aerosols and surface contaminations of the environment, appropriate use of anesthesia machines and appropriate behavior in the operation room (OR) are required specifically in relation to this disease. The use of high-performance hydrophobic filters with a high rate of virus rejection is recommended as the type of viral filter, and surgical team behaviors that result in aerosol splashes should be avoided. Appropriate hand hygiene by the anesthesiologist is crucial to prevent unexpected environmental contamination. When the anesthesia machine is used instead of an intensive care unit ventilator, it is important to keep the fresh gas flow at least equal to the minute ventilation to prevent excessive humidity in the circuit and to monitor condensation in the circuit and inspiratory carbon dioxide pressure. In addition, both the surgical smoke inherent in thermal tissue destruction and the surgical team’s shoe soles may be factors for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the operating room. Ensuring social distancing—even with a mask in the OR—may be beneficial because healthcare providers may be asymptomatic carriers. After the acute crisis period of COVID-19, the number of cases of essential but nonurgent surgeries for waiting patients is likely to increase; therefore, optimization of OR scheduling will be an important topic. Anesthesiologists will benefit from new standard practices focusing on the prevention of COVID-19 infection. Keywords Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 · COVID-19 · Anesthesia machines · Operating room
Introduction The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) infection] first appeared in December 2019 in China [1] and is now spreading worldwide. As of June 4, 2020, approximately 6.2 million people have been infected and 370,000 deaths have been confirmed [World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak situation. https: //www.who.int/emerge ncies /diseas es/novel- coron avirus-2019 (accessed date: 4 June 2020)] Although there * Shinju Obara [email protected] 1
Surgical Operation Department, Fukushima Medical University Hospital, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima, Fukushima 960‑1295, Japan
are encouraging signs, which is halting the increase in the number of new patients in some regions, preparation is still required for the so-called second wave [2] of COVID-19 infection that is expected in near future. Because S
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