COVID-19: Current Knowledge and Best Practices for Orthopaedic Surgeons

Background A mysterious cluster outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, China in December 2019 was traced to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 and declared a Pandemic by WHO on 11th March 2020. The pandemic has spread rapidly causing widespread devastation globally. Purpose This review provides a brief understanding of pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis and management of COVID-19 and highlights the current knowledge as well as best practices for orthopaedic surgeons. These are likely to change as knowledge and evidence is gained. Results Orthopaedic surgeons, like other front-line workers, carry the risk of getting infected during their practice, which as such is already substantially affected. Implementation of infection prevention and control as well as other safety measures for health care workers assumes great importance. All patients/visitors and staff visiting the hospital should be screened. Conservative treatment should be the first line of treatment except for those requiring urgent/emergent care. During lockdown all elective surgeries are to be withheld. All attempts should be made to reduce hospital visits and telemedicine is to be encouraged. Inpatient management of COVID-19 patients requires approval from concerned authorities. All patients being admitted to the hospital in and around containment zones should be tested for COVID-19. There are special considerations for anaesthesia with preference for regional anaesthesia. A separate Operation room with specific workflow should be dedicated for COVID-19 positive cases. Conclusions Despite the magnitude of challenge, the pandemic offers significant lessons for the orthopaedic surgeon who should seek the opportunity within the adversity and use this time wisely to achieve his/her Ikigai.