Abstract
This quality improvement study used a nonhuman subject research approach to examine whether SARS-CoV-2 from aerosolized virus is present in and potentially transmissible from a electrocautery plume in surgery.
Highlights
Respiratory RNA viruses with a lipid bilayer, such as SARS-CoV-2, are typically more susceptible to higher temperatures than other nonenveloped respiratory viruses, such as adenoviruses
virus has been detected in saliva
we set out to investigate the presence of live SARS-CoV-2 in electrocautery plumes
Summary
(SARS-CoV-2) virus has been detected in saliva, sputum, bile, feces, and blood and shown to remain viable in aerosols for at least 3 hours.[1,2] As such, direct transmission to surgical staff from aerosolized virus in an Supplemental content electrocautery plume (as observed with other viruses) has been raised by several colleges and associations as a particular safety concern.[1,3] Cautery performed in areas of high potential viral load in particular (eg, the nasopharynx, oropharynx, anterior skull base, lung parenchyma) could pose a risk to those in the operating room. Electrocautery at 25 W was applied using 3 different methods (monopolar cut, monopolar coagulate, and bipolar electrocautery [Erbe USA]) for 1 minute on raw chicken breast with an added 4 mL of Dulbecco modified eagle medium (DMEM) or a DMEM:blood mixture containing 1 × 105.7 median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) per mL of SARS-CoV-2, similar to the viral load in pulmonary sputum of a patient with symptoms.
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