Covid-19 and Orthopedic Surgery: Review of the Literature and Evidence

ABSTRACT

A pandemic has been declared due to a new highly contagious virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). The world has come to a halt due to the rapid expansion of this virus, whose lethality has reached 15% in some countries. In Chile, the government has taken decisive, aggressive measures in an attempt to control disease spread and provide healthcare to those who need it. These decisions include the suspension of elective surgeries and other ambulatorial procedures. As orthopedic surgeons, we have been affected by these measures, and there is doubt regarding the best course of action. We prepared this guide to summarize available evidence and orient our colleagues regarding this condition. This guide is meant to be dynamic, as new opinions, evidence and experiences arise every day. Therefore, we advise the reader to keep it as a reference, not an undisputable truth.