Risks of COVID-19 transmission in blood and serum during surgery. A prospective cross-sectional study from a single dedicated COVID-19 center
Nicolò Fabbri 1, Eriminio Righini 2, Laura Cardarelli 3, Luigi Di Marco 1, Carlo V. Feo 1
Affiliations
Article Info
1 Unit of General Surgery, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale di Ferrara, University of Ferrara, Italy
2 Unit of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
3 Rete Diagnostica italiana, Padua (Limena), Italy
Abstract
The present pandemic caused by the SARS COV-2 coronavirus is still ongoing, although it is registered a slowdown in the spread for new cases. The main environmental route of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is through droplets and fomites or surfaces, but there is a potential risk of virus spread also in smaller aerosols during various medical procedures causing airborne transmission. To date, no information is available on the risk of contagion from the peritoneal fluid with which surgeons can come into contact during the abdominal surgery on COVID-19 patients. We have investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the peritoneal cavity of patients affected by COVID-19, intraoperatively and postoperatively.
Keywords
- Covid-19
- Laparotomy
- Surgery