Nosocomial COVID-19 infection mortality following surgery for severe progressive cervical myelopathy: a case report

We present the unique case of a nosocomial COVID infection acquired after urgent surgical intervention for cervical myelopathy, as well as the sequelae that followed in the postoperative period.

An initially COVID-negative patient underwent urgent surgical intervention for cervical myelopathy with significant neurological deterioration. She underwent an uncomplicated staged anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with corpectomy, as well as a subsequent posterior cervical instrumented fusion within the same hospitalization. The patient would refuse to adhere to standard COVID precautions during her admission and demonstrated rapid decompensation following her particularly uneventful surgeries, ultimately leading to her expiration. A laboratory test confirmed that she had contracted COVID at the time of the patient's death.

This report highlights the repercussions of COVID-19 infection during the perioperative period and its implications on surgical outcomes. The stresses of surgery and the body's immunosuppressive responses during this time place patients at particular risk for the contraction of this virus. The standard precautions should be followed and vaccination should be considered for surgical candidates prior to their operations, as they become more readily accessible.