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Review
. 2021 Apr;19(2):e42-e48.
doi: 10.1016/j.surge.2020.08.001. Epub 2020 Aug 13.

Aerosol generating procedures in trauma and orthopaedics in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic; What do we know?

Anshul Sobti  1 , Mohamed Fathi  2 , Mohamed A Mokhtar  3 , Karim Mahana  4 , Mustafa S Rashid  5 , Ioannis Polyzois  6 , A Ali Narvani  6 , Mohamed A Imam  7
Affiliations
Review

Aerosol generating procedures in trauma and orthopaedics in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic; What do we know?

Anshul Sobti et al. Surgeon. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc all over the globe and spared no one regardless of status, gender, location and ethnicity. There were questions raised if trauma and orthopaedic (T&O) procedures actually generated aerosols? The need for a review of literature highlighting the nature and impact of aerosol generation within T&O surgery was noted.

Methods: A comprehensive online search was performed for all published articles in the English language, evaluating AGPs in T&O surgery and the relevant personal protection equipment used.

Results: The search strategy populated 43 studies. Six studies were identified as duplicates. The shortlisted 37 studies were screened and nine studies were included in the review. An additional four studies were included from the bibliography review.

Conclusion: Most orthopaedic procedures are high-risk aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). Conventional surgical masks do not offer protection against high-risk AGPs. In the current era of COVID-19 pandemic, there is a significant risk to the transmission of infection to the theatre staff. For protection against airborne transmission, appropriate masks should be used. These need proper fitting and sizing to ensure full protection when used.

Keywords: AGP; Aerosol generating procedures; Corona virus; Covid-19; Pandemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow-chart for the review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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