Effectiveness of a SARS-CoV-2 infection-prevention model in elective surgery patients, a prospective study: Does Universal Screening Make Sense?.

Moreno-Perez, Oscar; Merino, Esperanza; Chico-Sánchez, Pablo; Gras-Valenti, Paula; Sánchez-Payá, José

This observational study included patients who underwent preoperative COVID-19 screening in order to preserve the safety of the patient. Of 8740 surgical procedures, in 2292 RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was performed, with 0.0022% incidence of positive PCRs. No health-care-associated infectionS were detected. There was no difference in overall-mortality and length of hospital admission stay compared with the same study period of the previous year. A selective screening strategy to identify patients for PCR testing based on isolation measures, pre-surgical clinical-epidemiological assessment and selected major surgeries susceptible to a poor COVID-19-related outcome, is effective and safe for patients and health care workers.