Abstract
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a disruptive force upon the health care system, with particular import for thoracic surgery given the pulmonary pathophysiology and disease implications of the virus. The rapid and severe onset of disease required expedient innovation and change in patient management and novel approaches to care delivery and nimbleness of workforce. In this review, we detail our approaches to patients with COVID-19, including those that required surgical intervention, our expedited and novel approach to bronchoscopy and tracheostomy, and our expansion of telehealth. The pandemic has created a unique opportunity to reflect on our delivery of care in thoracic surgery and apply lessons learned during this time to “rethink” how to optimize resources and deliver excellent and cutting-edge patient care.
Highlights
The accelerated pace of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the consequent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) requires an rapid rate of change and flexibility in the management of critically ill patients
New methods of healthcare delivery such as telemedicine have been developed, allowing us unique opportunities to reflect on our standard delivery of care in thoracic surgery and to apply lessons learned during the pandemic to “rethink” how we optimize resources and deliver excellent patient care
Patients required negative COVID-19 testing within 3 days of the procedure and all staff for procedures wore N95 masks, eye shields, and gloves. When these precautions are taken there has been shown to be minimal infectious risk to provider with practically no transmission during bronchoscopy or endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) [7, 8]
Summary
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a disruptive force upon the health care system, with particular import for thoracic surgery given the pulmonary pathophysiology and disease implications of the virus. The rapid and severe onset of disease required expedient innovation and change in patient management and novel approaches to care delivery and nimbleness of workforce. We detail our approaches to patients with COVID-19, including those that required surgical intervention, our expedited and novel approach to bronchoscopy and tracheostomy, and our expansion of telehealth. The pandemic has created a unique opportunity to reflect on our delivery of care in thoracic surgery and apply lessons learned during this time to “rethink” how to optimize resources and deliver excellent and cutting-edge patient care
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