Management of Trauma and Surgical Procedures in Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection was first identified in China and spread to the whole world in a very short time. The COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 due to the rapid increase in the number of cases and deaths. Studies show that the virus is primarily transmitted by respiratory droplets and close contact. Although 90% of children are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, they should be accepted as positive until they are proven negative regardless of any complaints. Despite the process, trauma, burn and surgical emergencies continue to concern pediatric surgeons. The basic principles those generally accepted during Covid-19 pandemic are to perform emergency and urgent surgical procedures and to reschedule elective surgeries. However, the most important issue in the process is to take precautions for protecting the healthcare team and to plan keeping hospital reserves. We aimed to adapt general principles of trauma and surgery to the COVID-19 pandemic in children and to discuss the specific conditions in our review.