An unexpected COVID‐19 diagnosis during emergency surgery in a neonate

Abstract

A 4‐day‐old, 3.3 kg infant presented with suspected intestinal malrotation, necessitating emergent diagnostic laparoscopy. Intra‐operatively, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) came back positive. This is the first case report of emergency surgery and anesthesia in a positive SARS‐CoV‐2 newborn. This report highlights a neonate with an incidental positive SARS‐CoV‐2 test, no known exposure history, negative polymerase chain reaction maternal testing, and absence of respiratory symptoms who required modified pressure control ventilation settings to adequately ventilate with the high‐efficiency particulate air filter in situ.