PREVENTING NOSOCOMIAL TRANSMISSION DURING TRACHEOSTOMY FOR COVID-19
PNEUMONIA IN ICU: LESSONS LEARNED FROM AN ITALIAN “HOT SPOT”
Abstract
Objective: Surgical/anesthetic management of patients undergoing
surgical tracheostomy for Covid-19 pneumonia aiming at minimizing the
risk of health care workers (HCWs) infection. Design, Setting and
Paticipants: Twenty-three Caucasian patients, mean age 67 years, with
long-term orotracheal intubation for severe acute respiratory syndrome
Covid-19 pneumonia were submitted to surgical tracheostomy, between
February 3rd and March 22nd 2020, according to our specific procedure.
Main outcomes and Measures: Air exposure time (AET) and frequency of
infection in HCWs. Results: No complication, in terms of bleeding or
tracheostomy cannula displacement, was observed. No HCWs involved in the
procedures contracted Covid-19. Conclusions: The tracheostomy technique
we describe minimizes the risk of surgeon’s exposure to patient’s
aerosol drops/expired air and the possibility of HCWs infection during
the procedure carried out in patients with Covid-19 pneumonia. The
details and advantages of our approach with respect to “standard”
tracheotomy and percutaneous procedures are discussed.