Surgery today
-
Review
General surgery and COVID-19: review of practical recommendations in the first pandemic phase.
In March, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The absence of previous knowledge of COVID-19 has made decision-making difficult for all in health care, including surgical departments. We reviewed the management recommendations for surgical activity and changes to surgical practice, identifying concordances and discrepancies, based on the literature published in the early phase of the pandemic. ⋯ The recommendations proposed in the revised documents are considered good practices aimed at keeping patients and healthcare professionals safe. However, these recommendations must be contextualized in each individual hospital.