Preparing to Perform Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery on Patients with COVID-19

Abstract

In a time when the population is instructed to stay home, health workers are being asked to do the exact opposite. By early March 2020, 3,300 health workers had been infected in the People’s Republic of China, and, by the end of February 2020, at least 22 health workers had died. At the time of this writing, it was estimated that at least 20% of responding health workers in Italy had been infected15. The protection of health workers and appropriate training are of paramount importance to minimize their infection and the stress associated with the physical and mental exhaustion in which they are being placed. The correct application of these procedures is expected to adequately protect health workers by using protective clothing readily available at most ORs, minimizing the risks associated with the lack of PPE.