Saudi Society for Cardiac Surgeons consensus document on COVID-19, April 1, 2020

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an international health crisis that is challenging to all governments. Health practitioners in different fields have a duty to guide people and governments to achieve safe health practices. The Saudi Society for Cardiac Surgeons recognizes that it is difficult to establish evidence-based guidelines for safe cardiac surgery practices in such a crisis because this is an unprecedented health pandemic. So we decided to work with our colleagues in other societies by reviewing different recommendations and safe practices issued by different health organizations and scientific societies. The aim was to come up with recommendations that could guide hospitals, physicians, and other members of the healthcare team on the best available practices that are applicable to our community and that will not only ensure optimum patient care delivery but also protect healthcare workers from the risk of infection and aid the national effort in containing and managing this worldwide pandemic.

Literature-based considerations regarding organizing and performing cardiac surgery against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic

“…In contrast, Haft et al [ 4 ] proposed a tiered patient triage guidance statement, as shown in Table 1 . A similar triage and prioritization system was published by the Saudi Society for Cardiac Surgeons [ 5 ]. Meanwhile, Hussain et al [ 6 ] suggested a service system for providing urgent and emergency cardiac surgery for all of London, focusing on maintaining a Covid-free in-hospital environment.…”

“…>Local extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) protocols for both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients should be developed [ 4 , 5 , 10 , 12 ].…”

“…However, the epidemic is now entering a chronic phase in many countries, and it is not known how long this state will last. Therefore, during this chronic period, most authors suggest performing a limited number of elective procedures based on a triage system [ 4 , 5 ]. Deferring patients already on a waiting list generates anxiety and may also provoke the onset of cardiac and non- cardiac symptoms like hypertensive crisis, sleep disorders.…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Coronary Interventional Cardiology Activity in King Abdulaziz Medical City: A Retrospective Study

“…This supports the findings of other studies performed during the pandemic and may be attributed to several factors. Another significant finding of this study was the higher rate of readmissions in group B, which may be explained by the recommendation of the Saudi MOH about reducing patients’ length of stay to minimize the risk of infection and virus transmission as the post-infective complication of myocarditis [ 11 ].…”

“…It was recommended that one catheterization laboratory per hospital should be active. As the pandemic progresses, it would appear that these effects are gradually decreasing [ 11 , 12 ].…”