The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that started in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 has infected 60.074.174 people, including 1.416.292 deaths by November 26th, 20201. Globally, hospitals were forced to stop most surgeries and redirected resources and staff to accommodate the growing burden of COVID-19. Anesthesia and surgical practice worldwide suffer from radical changes in protocols, especially those related to pre-operative screening, testing, and infection control policies2,3. Continue reading
Respiratory failure due to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease has triggered a debate about when and how to apply mechanical ventilation in these patients, as it has been proposed that severe "atypical" ARDS of COVID-19 cause an ARDS pandemic. As global database grows, it is evident that about 6% of patients will need admission to the ICU. About 75% of these will require invasive ventilation, and approximately 10% will need ventilation beyond 14 days. Different ventilation strategies are followed yet there is no strong evidence in favor of anyone. The present article attempts to gather the daily evolving evidence on the subject. Continue reading
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. SARS-CoV-2 is a new virus that has not been previously identified in humans. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 commonly develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), myocardial injury, ventricular arrhythmias, and shock, all of which increase their risk of cardiac arrest. The main objective of this brief review is to raise the discussion on the possible indication of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a patient with SARS-CoV-2 in prone position as a way to save time, since the entire process of decubitus change is complex and often slow, due to the number of devices used in these patients, such as catheters, infusion pumps and monitors. In addition to a price of high demand for stressed human resources. Continue reading
