Conservation of personal protective equipment for head and neck cancer surgery during COVID-19 pandemic.
Head Neck
; 42(6): 1187-1193, 2020 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-133249
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). This study aims to stratify face shield needs when performing head and neck cancer surgery.METHODS:
Fifteen patients underwent surgery between March 1, 2020 and April 9, 2020. Operative diagnosis and procedure; droplet count and distribution on face shields were documented.RESULTS:
Forty-five surgical procedures were performed for neck nodal metastatic carcinoma of unknown origin (n = 3); carcinoma of tonsil (n = 2), tongue (n = 2), nasopharynx (n = 3), maxilla (n = 1), and laryngopharynx (n = 4). Droplet contamination was 57.8%, 59.5%, 8.0%, and 0% for operating, first and second assistant surgeons, and scrub nurse respectively. Droplet count was highest and most widespread during osteotomies. No droplet splash was noted for transoral robotic surgery.CONCLUSION:
Face shield is not a mandatory adjunctive PPE for all head and neck surgical procedures and health care providers. Judicious use helps to conserve resources during such difficult times.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Monitoring, Intraoperative
/
Occupational Health
/
Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Pandemics
/
Personal Protective Equipment
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Head Neck
Journal subject:
Neoplasms
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Hed.26215
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