Open AccessAirway Management of COVID-19 Positive Patients Aboard USNS COMFORT Mission to New York City
Author(s) -
Charles Meyer,
Gregory Capra,
Robert Strange,
Brian P. Weimerskirch,
Gabriel Santiago
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the journal of craniofacial surgery/the journal of craniofacial surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1536-3732
pISSN - 1049-2275
DOI - 10.1097/scs.0000000000006891
Subject(s) - medicine , tracheotomy , personal protective equipment , covid-19 , intubation , pandemic , isolation (microbiology) , airway management , medical emergency , emergency medicine , intensive care medicine , disease , surgery , outbreak , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
During the USNS Comfort mobilization to New York City in response to the pandemic, the ship's medical team cared for over 35 mechanically ventilated corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected patients. Due to the better than expected mortality rates of these patients, tracheotomy for prolonged intubation or other indicated interventional bronchoscopies were performed on 7 COVID positive patients, as well as 2 with negative screening tests. No member of the health care team subsequently became symptomatic or tested positive for COVID-19. This was in part due to the formation of a dedicated surgical airway team, use of standardized procedural techniques and personal protective equipment (PPE), and construction of a negative pressure operating room within the COVID-19 isolation ward on the ship. This experience shows that tracheotomies and other aerosolizing procedures can be performed with due concern for patient and provider safety, regardless of patient's COVID status.