• Sean Coffey, Anouska Moynagh, Belinda Green, John Edmond, Gerard T Wilkins, James Pemberton, Ben Wilkins, Michael Ja Williams, and Brendan Arnold.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Monash Health; Casey Hospital Emergency Department, Monash Health.
• N. Z. Med. J. 2020 Apr 24; 133 (1513): 101-106.

AbstractThe coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires significant changes to standard operating procedures for non-COVID-19 related illnesses. Balancing the benefit from standard evidence-based treatments with the risks posed by COVID-19 to patients, healthcare workers and to the population at large is difficult due to incomplete and rapidly changing information. In this article, we use management of acute coronary syndromes as a case study to show how these competing risks and benefits can be resolved, albeit incompletely. While the risks due to COVID-19 in patients with acute coronary syndromes is unclear, the benefits of standard management are well established in this condition. As an aid to decision making, we recommend systematic estimation of the risks and benefits for management of any condition where there is likely to be an increase in non-COVID-19 related mortality and morbidity due to changes in routine care.

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