Pooled Prevalence of Long COVID-19 Symptoms at 12 Months and Above Follow-Up Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Current data suggests that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors experience long-lasting problems. It is not yet understood how long these symptoms last. The goal of this study was to compile all the data that was currently available to evaluate COVID-19's long-term effects at 12 months and above. We looked for studies published by December 15, 2022, in PubMed and Embase that discussed follow-up findings for COVID-19 survivors who had been alive for at least a year. A random-effect model was carried out to determine the combined prevalence of different long-COVID symptoms. The Joanna Briggs Institute tool was used to assess the risk of bias for the included studies, and the I2 statistics were used to evaluate the heterogeneity. After reviewing 3,209 studies, 46 were deemed admissible, with an aggregate COVID-19 population of 17976. At 12 months and above, 57% of patients reported a minimum of one symptom, and the five most prevalent symptoms were: dyspnea on exertion (34%, 95% CI 0.2; 0.94); difficulty in concentration (32%, 95% CI 0.16; 0.52); fatigue (31%, 95% CI 0.22; 0.40); frailty (31%, 95% CI 0.06; 0.78); and arthromyalgia (28%, 95% CI 0.09; 0.6). The findings of the present study showed that at 12 months and beyond, a sizable fraction of COVID-19 survivors still have lasting symptoms that impair several body systems. Long-COVID patients require an urgent understanding of pathophysiological processes and the development of tailored treatments.

The Psychological Morbidity among Health Care Workers During the Early Phase of Covid-19 Pandemic in India: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Across India, there have been multiple studies conducted to address the issues of the mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study estimated the pooled prevalence of psychological morbidity among healthcare workers during the early phase of the COVID 19 pandemic in India. We searched the following electronic bibliographic databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley online library, and Google scholar for studies conducted from the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic until 25 September 2021. The methodological quality of each study was scored and outcome measures with uniform cut off scores as per various screening measurements were evaluated. According to the current meta analysis, the pooled estimates of depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia among Indian healthcare workers during the COVID 19 pandemic are 20.1% (95% CI: 15.6 to 24.6%; n = 21 studies), 25.0% (95% CI: 18.4 to 31.6%; n = 20 studies), 36% (95% CI: 23.7 to 48.2%; n = 22 studies) and 18.9% (95% CI: 9.9 to 28.0%; n = 6 studies) respectively. In subgroup analyses, low quality studies based on the JBI checklist (Score < 3/9) and studies using DASS 21 showed a higher pooled prevalence of depression and anxiety. About 20-36% of the healthcare workers in India reported having depression, anxiety, and stress during the early phase of the COVID 19 pandemic. The present study provides a comprehensive review of the overall burden of mental health problems among healthcare workers during the COVID 19 pandemic in India necessitating appropriate intervention strategies to protect these frontline groups before the memory of the pandemic crisis starts to fade.

Impact of COVID-19 on lifestyles related etiquette among nursing staff in India: a cross sectional descriptive e-survey.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of COVID-19 pandemics on lifestyle-related etiquettes like eating, physical activity, and sleep behavior among nursing staff in India. METHODS: A crosssectional descriptive E-survey was conducted among 942 nursing staff. The validated electronic survey questionnaire was used to assess the changes in lifestyle-related etiquette before and during COVID-19 Pandemic. RESULTS: Pandemic. Results. A total of 942 responses (mean age 29.01±5.7years) were collected, 53% of the respondents were men. A slight decline in healthy meal consumption pattern (p<0.0001) and a restriction of unhealthy food items were observed (p<0.0001), and also reduction in physical activity coupled with decreased participation in leisure-related activities was seen (p<0.0001). The stress and anxiety slightly increase during COVID-19 pandemics (p<0.0001). Additionally, social support extended by family and friends to maintain healthy lifestyle-related behaviors also significantly decreased during COVID-19 PANDEMIC pandemics compared to before (p<0.0001). Although the COVID-19 Pandemic slightly reduced the intake of healthy meals and deterred participants from consuming unhealthy food, this this may have led to individual weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: In general, there was a negative impact on, lifestyle like diet, sleep and mental health was observed. A detailed understanding of these factors can help to develop interventions to mitigate the harmful lifestyle-related etiquette that has manifested during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic among the general population in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: The novel coronavirus (n COVID-19) has affected every walk of life across the world including India. Several studies have been available on the COVID-19-related anxiety and depressive symptoms in the public health context. However, there is a dearth of evidence of a meta-analysis regarding the pooled estimates of anxiety and depressive symptoms related to this pandemic based on the existing studies conducted among the general population of India. The aim of the study was to estimate the pooled prevalence of COVID-19-related anxiety and depressive symptoms among the general population in India. Material and Methods: We searched the following electronic bibliographic databases: PubMed, Ovid, Science Direct, and Wiley online library for studies conducted from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and until September 25, 2021. We separately analyzed the outcome measures based on the risk of bias assessment. The publication bias was evaluated by funnel plots and Egger's test. Results: We used a random-effect model due to the significant heterogeneity between the studies (Anxiety symptoms – I2 = 99.40% and Depressive symptoms – I2 = 95.3%). According to the index meta-analysis, the pooled estimates of anxiety and depressive symptoms among general population of India during COVID-19 pandemic are 23.5% (95% CI: 17.4–29.6%;n = 21 studies) and 20.2% (95% CI: 17.2–23.2%;n = 17 studies), respectively. In subgroup analyses, good-quality studies (Score ≥7/9) had a significant effect on the pooled prevalence. Conclusion: About one-fifth of the general population of India reported having anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pooled estimates varied with the methodological quality of included studies. The present study provides a comprehensive picture of the overall magnitude of anxiety and depressive symptoms due to the COVID-19 outbreak which will guide the policy makers to measure the burden of similar pandemics more judiciously in the future.

Impact of pandemic COVID-19 lockdown on penetrating keratoplasty patients.

Purpose: To study the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the regular follow-up of keratoplasty patients. Methods: This retrospective interventional case series included 30 patients who had immunological corneal endothelial rejection out of 190 patients who came for post-PKP follow-up between September 15, 2019, and September 30, 2020. The demographics, primary diagnosis, surgical technique, time of presentation, recovery of graft, associated ocular problems, and visual acuity at 1 month were analyzed. Forward stepwise (likelihood ratio) binary logistic regression was used to find significant variables. Results: The study population had 19 males (63.33%) and 11 females (36.67%). The mean age of the study group was 42.83 ± 18.89 (8-80) years. Of 30 patients, 19 (63.3%) presented before and 11 (36.7%) after the COVID-19 lockdown. Overall, 23 (77%) showed a reversal of graft rejection. Logistic regression showed that preoperative indications, large-sized grafts, and deep corneal vascularization were significant risk factors for non-resolution of graft rejection. It was noted that patients who presented to the hospital late had poor recovery (P = 0.002). The delay in the presentation was a significant risk factor for non-resolution of graft rejection (P < 0.01). Z-test for proportions revealed that the difference in the non-resolution of rejection on immediate or delayed treatment in patients presenting during lockdown (P = 0.002) was significant. Conclusion: This article is to highlight the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on graft rejection recovery of PKP patients due to delays in follow-up. Early treatment helps in the recovery of graft transparency and the reversal of immunological graft rejection. Also, primary diagnosis, deep vascularization, and large-sized grafts were significant risk factors for non-resolution of graft rejection.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown on Non-COVID Neurosurgical Patients: Lessons Learned

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the basic functioning of the health care system. There has been an adverse impact on non-COVID-19 patients due to a shift in healthcare delivery, which is underreported. This study aims to explore the impact of the pandemic on various aspects of non-COVID neurosurgical patients. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a structured questionnaire to assess the physical, economic, and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on neurosurgical patients presenting to our hospital after a nationwide lockdown. Results Among 203 patients, non-neurotrauma and neurotrauma cases were 175 (86%) and 28 (16%), respectively. Among non-neurotrauma patients, 130 (64%) patients had cranial pathology. All 56 (27.6%) preoperative patients experienced rescheduling of surgery. Among 52 postsurgical patients, 47 (90%) had their adjuvant therapy delayed. Forty patients experienced deterioration in their neurological symptoms. Seventy-six (37%) patients sought medical attention from private hospitals. A severe contraction of income >= 25% of the income before lockdown) was experienced by families of 29 (14.3%) patients. Severe and very severe stress have been experienced by 24 (11.8%) and 14 (6.9%) patients, respectively. Severe and very severe anxiety was experienced by 32 (15.8%) and 9 (4.4%) patients. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown had a tremendous impact on the physical, social, and psychological well-being of patients with non-COVID illnesses. We are yet to face the long-term implications of the delay due to this pandemic in scheduled surgical and adjuvant treatments of non-COVID neurosurgical patients.

Fear and Challenges of Nursing Students Being in Hospital for Clinical Posting During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Survey.

Background: The world is facing unprecedented challenges in the face of a global pandemic (COVID-19). The institutions resumed nursing students' clinical experiences as an earlier part of their curriculum, which was transitioned to a virtually delivered format due to global disaster. Therefore, working through this pandemic in hospital posting is challenging and fearful for nursing students. The aim of this study was to measure the fear of COVID-19 and the challenges faced by nursing students when posted in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based exploratory survey was conducted on 185 participants from March 2021 to April 2021. Participants were selected through a web-based survey (Google form) by non-probability purposive sampling technique. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale and self-structured questionnaires with the Likert-type scale were used to measure the fear of COVID-19 and the challenges faced by nursing students when posted in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the analysis of data with IBM SPSS version 27. Results: A significant number (61.1%) of participants had moderate fear of COVID-19 infection, one-third of them (28.1%) had mild fear, and very few participants (10.8%) had an extreme fear of COVID-19 infection. The majority of participants (64.9%) faced moderate challenges, 27% faced high challenges, and very few study participants (8.1%) did not face any challenges when posted in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fear due to COVID-19 is not associated with demographic variables, but the challenges faced due to COVID-19 are significantly associated with demographic variables, such as the age, batch, and duration of clinical posting (p-value = 0.01). Conclusion: Study data indicated that respondents reported fear of COVID-19 infection and also experienced a variety of challenges in hospital posting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 and Psychological Distress among the General Population of India: Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Background: There is scanty evidence regarding the magnitude of COVID-19-related psychological distress (PD) among the general population of India. Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of PD among the general public of India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of 21 online surveys conducted across the Indian subcontinent and published between 2020 and 2021. Results: Overall estimates of PD among the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic by the random-effects model is 33.3% (95% confidence interval: 23.8%-42.8%; n = 21 studies). The level of heterogeneity was high among the included studies (I2 = 99.67%). In subgroup analysis, it was found that the survey tool and the methodological quality had a significant effect on the overall prevalence estimates. Approximately 33% of the general public reported to have PD during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, although the overall prevalence varied based on survey tools and quality of studies. Conclusion: As the pandemic crisis seems to be ebbing across the world, the current findings are a wake-up call to devise pragmatic strategies to curtail the burden of similar pandemics and to successfully meet the challenges ahead.

Pharmaco-immunomodulatory interventions for averting cytokine storm-linked disease severity in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The year 2020 is characterised by the COVID-19 pandemic that has quelled more than half a million lives in recent months. We are still coping with the negative repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, in which the 2nd wave in India resulted in a high fatality rate. Regardless of emergency vaccine approvals and subsequent meteoric global vaccination drives in some countries, hospitalisations for COVID-19 will continue to occur due to the propensity of mutation in SARS-CoV-2 virus. The immune response plays a vital role in the control and resolution of infectious diseases. However, an impaired immune response is responsible for the severity of the respiratory distress in many diseases. The severe COVID-19 infection persuaded cytokine storm that has been linked with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), culminates into vital organ failures and eventual death. Thus, safe and effective therapeutics to treat hospitalised patients remains a significant unmet clinical need. In that state, any clue of possible treatments, which save patients life, can be treasured for this time point. Many cohorts and clinical trial studies demonstrated that timely administration of immunomodulatory drugs on severe COVID-19 patients may mitigate the disease severity, hospital stay and mortality. This article addresses the severity and risk factors of hypercytokinemia in COVID-19 patients, with special emphasis on prospective immunomodulatory therapies.

Expectations of healthcare personnel from infection prevention and control services for preparedness of healthcare organisation in view of COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During infectious outbreaks like COVID-19, it is essential that every healthcare personnel (HCP) strictly adheres to infection prevention and control (IPC) policies. To boost IPC measures, training to reinforce preventive practices, which are pertinent to needs and encompass the expectations of the HCP, is indispensable. Thus, these expectations of the HCP should be explored. METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive survey, we used convenience sampling technique to ask the participants to list their expectations on of covid-19 IPC training paper based forms. Using the category construction approach, we organised the expectations and grouped the participants on the basis of their work and place of work to analyse the association using the chi-square test. RESULTS: Many participants expected to learn about the use of PPE and masks, hand hygiene, physical distancing, cleaning and disinfection, basic precautions for personal protection during the training. Expectations also included various administrative queries, sample collection and clinical skills for diagnosis and management. There was significant association of many categories of expectations with the nature and place of work in the hospital. CONCLUSION: When planning IPC training, these expectations of the HCP may be carefully addressed. Information about causative agent, transmission and clinical aspects may will give a contextual meaning to IPC training. Some important preventive measures, which few participants expected to learn must be analysed in detail to understand the attitude of the HCP towards them. Efforts to appraise the HCP for the importance of these measures and promoting its practice may play a vital role to curb the spread of infectious diseases.

Awareness, Attitude, and Acceptability of Healthcare Workers About COVID-19 Vaccination in Western India

Introduction In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline around the world and categorized as a priority group for COVID-19 vaccines. Our study aimed to find out the COVID-19 vaccine awareness, attitude, and acceptance in HCWs in western India. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out between January 14 and January 28, 2021, at a tertiary care hospital located in western India. Data were collected anonymously using Google Forms. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the sociodemographic variables. The knowledge and attitude of HCWs were analyzed using mean and SD. Multivariate analysis was done to find out the association between participants’ attitudes with demographic characteristics. Results Of the total health care workers, 498 answered the survey. The mean age of participants was 29.8 years (SD 6.4), and 354 (71.1%) were male. Among the respondents, 445 (89.4%) would accept a COVID-19 vaccine when available. Four-hundred seventy-six (476) HCWs (95.6%) had excellent knowledge regarding COVID-19 and COVID-19-appropriate behavior. The majority of the subjects (399) had a neutral attitude toward COVID-19 vaccination. Health care professionals (doctors and nurses) had higher acceptance for vaccination against COVID-19 than non-professionals. Conclusions The higher rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and the excellent knowledge among HCWs will directly enhance the level and acceptability of vaccine among the general population and will definitely help in reducing the mortality and morbidity related to COVID-19.

Anxiety, depression and quality of life (QOL) related to COVID-19 among frontline health care professionals: A multicentric cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: During this pandemic everyone is facing the wrath of this novel coronavirus but nurses who are meticulously working in closed contact with diseased are at more risk for developing anxiety, depression and compromised quality of life. This study was conducted with an intent to identify anxiety, depression and quality of life and its predictors among nurses who are actively involved in caring of COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was carried out among nurses who were actively involved in COVID-19 duties at government tertiary health care institutes of India and data was collection through convenience sampling. Standardized tools (HADS, WHOQOL-BREF) were preferred for the assessment of participants' anxiety, depression and quality of life. Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify predictors for anxiety and depression. RESULTS: Of 354 nurses, 12.1% were suffering from anxiety while 14.7% had depression. Mean score for physical, psychological, social and environmental domains were 14.75 ± 1.86, 14.92 ± 2.46, 15.21 ± 3.01, and 14.48 ± 2.38 respectively. Nurses' education was a significant predictor for anxiety (odds ratio [OR] = -0.262, 95% CI: -0.510- -0.014, and P value = 0.038). Similarly for depression, designation of nurses acts as a contributing factor (odds ratio [OR] = 0.287, 95% CI: 0.016- 0.557, and P value = 0.038). CONCLUSION: Nurses are providing their services beyond boundaries so that we can overcome with hard time of COVID-19 pandemic. Although less but still nurses are suffering from anxiety and depression which need to be addressed to protect and enhance their mental well-being.

Digital health: A panacea in COVID-19 crisis.

The whole world is in the grip of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This pandemic brought visible changes in the life of humans around the globe. Likewise, the medical health sector is forced to use digital technology to continue to provide medical health services by preventing themselves. COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the significance of digitalization in every sphere of life. By focusing on virtual care at a large scale, health care delivery becomes possible and convenient even for remote places. The use of artificial intelligence concepts in this pandemic, like robots replaced human movements and function automatically to guide the patients in the reception area and found helpful to prevent and manage the crowd in a few countries. Similarly, the use of e-earning platform has emerged as a digital solution to impart medical education to medical students in this corona outbreak.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychological Status of Pregnant Women.

Introduction Pregnancy is a beautiful phase in every woman's life in which she undergoes several physical and psychological transformations. The level of stress and anxiety may increase due to a sudden outbreak of contagious diseases. Objective To evaluate the psychological status of pregnant women during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from July 15, 2020, to September 15, 2020, in Dehradun, Haridwar, and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand, India. A total of 333 pregnant women were surveyed through an online platform. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was measured using the Impact of Event-Revised (IES-R) scale, and anxiety levels were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results The survey results revealed that around three-fourths (73.6%) of the pregnant women reported minimal psychological impact, with a mean IES-R score of 16.93±11.23, whereas 69.4% of respondents had a minimal level of anxiety, with a mean GAD-7 score of 3.09±3.73. Multivariate linear regression found a positive association between psychological impact and gestational age, occupation, religion, locality, conception, history of abortion (p<0.05). Also, the level of anxiety was significantly associated with education, occupation, monthly income, religion, marital and family support, history of mental illness (p<0.01), conception type, and awareness regarding COVID-19 (p<0.05). Conclusion Psychological impact and anxiety levels were found to be minimal in pregnant women residing in Uttarakhand. Early identification of high-risk women is important to formulate necessary strategic planning to reduce the complications associated with maternal psychological stress on developing fetus.

Pain management in COVID-19 pediatric patients-An evidence- based review.

Despite our growing knowledge about the COVID pandemic, not much concern has been focused upon the effective pain management in pediatric patients suffering from this SARS CoV2 virus. Symptoms with pain like myalgia (10%-40%), sore throat (5%-30%), headache (14%-40%) and abdominal pain (10%) are common in children suffering from COVID. (3-5) We conducted a systematic review regarding analgesia for COVID positive pediatric patients. Cochrane, PubMed, and Google scholar databases were searched for relevant literature. Owing to the novel status of COVID-19 with limited literature, we included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies, case series and case reports in the descending order of consideration. Articles in languages other than English, abstract only articles and non-scientific commentaries were excluded. The Primary outcome was evaluation of pain related symptoms and best strategies for their management. Our review revealed that a multidisciplinary approach starting from non-pharmacological techniques like drinking plenty of water, removing triggers like inadequate sleep, specific foods and psychotherapy including distraction, comfort and cognitive behavioural strategies should be used. Pharmacological approaches like acetaminophen, NSAIDS, spasmolytics etc. can be used if non-pharmacological therapy is inadequate. As per the current strength of evidence, acetaminophen and ibuprofen can be safely administered for pain management in children with COVID-19. Undertreated pain is a significant contributor to increased morbidity and poor prognosis. Integration of evidence based non-pharmacotherapies in the multidisciplinary pain management will contribute towards improved functioning, early recovery and better quality care for pediatric patients suffering from COVID.

"Locked up inside home" - Head injury patterns during coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: As citizens have been forced to stay home during coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the crisis created unique trends in the neurotrauma patterns with changes in mode, severity, and outcome of head injured patients. METHODS: Details of neurotrauma admissions under the neurosurgery department at our institute since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the country were collected retrospectively and compared to the same period last year in terms of demographic profile, mode of injury, GCS at admission, severity of head injury, radiological diagnosis, management (surgical/conservative), and outcome. The patients were studied according to which phase of pandemic they were admitted in - "lockdown" period (March 25 to May 31, 2020) or "unlock" period (June 1 to September 15, 2020). RESULTS: The number of head injuries decreased by 16.8% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, during the lockdown period, the number of admissions was 2.7/week while it was 6.8/week during the "unlock" period. RTA was the mode of injury in 29.6% patients during the lockdown, while during the unlock period, it was 56.9% (P = 0.000). Mild and moderate head injuries decreased by 41% and severe head injuries increased by 156.25% during the COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.000). The mortality among neurotrauma patients increased from 12.4% to 22.5% during the COVID-19 era (P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: We observed a decline in the number of head injury admissions during the pandemic, especially during the lockdown. At the same time, there was increase in the severity of head injuries and associated injuries, resulting in significantly higher mortality in our patients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Deployment of Neurosurgeons at the Warfront Against Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19).

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken the world by storm, especially the health care system. Medical practitioners of all specialties are being assigned to treat patients of COVID-19. In this article, two authors (T.V. and N.G.) from the Department of Neurosurgery who were deployed in the COVID-19 testing ward between April 25 and May 31, 2020 share their experience. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted including all those who were admitted in this ward. The patients were studied according to their demographic profiles, diagnoses, admitting departments, travel history, and presence/absence of COVID-19-related symptoms. Relevant history regarding occupation, contact with patient with known COVID-19, and comorbid illness was noted. Those who tested positive for COVID-19 were studied further. The data from the institute's official record were updated until August 14, 2020. RESULTS: During the study period, there were 256 admissions in the ward, of whom 148 (92 male, 56 female) were patients and 108 were patients' attendants/relatives. Most patients were admitted under the departments of internal medicine (33, 22.3%) and general surgery (19, 12.8%). Of 148 patients, 46 (31.1%) were admitted as they were planned for a surgery/intervention. Among 148 patients, 29 (19.6%) had history of travel to or were residents of a red zone, 4 (2.7%) had history of contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, whereas 6 (4.1%) were health care workers. One hundred four patients (70.2%) showed no COVID-19-related symptoms. Thirty-four patients (22.9%) had associated comorbid conditions. Eight patients (5 male, 3 female) with mean age of 37.6 years (range 4-69 years) tested positive for COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: The authors share their experience and their institute's protocol in various facets during this war against COVID-19 pandemic. Preadmission and presurgical testing of patients is important in preventing the spread of the disease amongst health care workers.