Abstract:

Introduction: Surgeries are potential procedures for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission due to the presence of a multidisciplinary team and high-risk activities such as airway assessment and intubation. This study was carried out to assess risk of surgeries conducted at the main referral hospital in Aceh province, Indonesia during COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A Medical necessary, Time-Sensitive (MeNTS) score was used to assess risk of emergency and elective surgeries conducted at Aceh main referral hospital, Dr. Zainoel Abidin, from July to August 2020. In total, 463 surgeries were screened, consisted of 126 emergency surgeries and 337 elective procedures. Result: Orthopaedic department contributed the most with 129 patients (27.9%), while ear, nose, throat (ENT) departments contributed the least with only 16 patients (3.4%). Orthopedic surgeries had the lowest MeNTS score (36.23), while neurosurgeries had the highest MeNTS score (46.91). Most of the surgeries were elective (72.8%), and the MeNTS score for elective surgeries was higher than emergency procedures (41.0 to 39.6). Conclusion: Neurosurgeries were the highest risk procedures conducted in Aceh main referral hospital, Indonesia, followed by ENT, thoracic-vascular, and digestive surgeries. MeNTS scoring can be used as an additional screening tool in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Zainoel Abidin Hospital, Banda Aceh, Indonesia to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission during surgical procedures.

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