SARS-CoV-2 During Abdominal Operations: Are Surgeons at Risk?

Area of Science:

• Surgical Safety
• Infectious Diseases
• Virology

Background:

• The safety of surgical procedures for patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains uncertain.
• Concerns exist regarding potential coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission during surgery, based on data from other viral infections.
• The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in peritoneal fluid and tissues is not well-understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the peritoneal cavity of patients undergoing abdominal surgery.
• To assess the potential risk of viral transmission during surgical interventions in COVID-19 positive individuals.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted.
• Adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 who underwent abdominal surgery at a single institution were included.
• Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in abdominal fluid samples.

Main Results:

• Six patients with confirmed COVID-19 underwent abdominal surgery.
• Five patients were asymptomatic, while one had severe COVID-19 disease.
• SARS-CoV-2 was not detected in any of the 20 abdominal fluid samples analyzed.

Conclusions:

• The study did not detect SARS-CoV-2 in the peritoneal cavity of the six patients who underwent abdominal surgery.
• The overall risk of COVID-19 transmissibility during surgical procedures requires further investigation.