Alternatives for establishing a surgical airway during the COVID-19 pandemic

Daniel Souza Lima; Marcelo Fontenelle Ribeiro Junior; Hélio Machado Vieira-Jr; Tércio de Campos; Salomone Di Saverio

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Daniel Souza Lima Instituto Dr. José Frota e Universidade de Fortaleza UNIFOR, Serviço Cirurgia do Trauma e Departamento de Cirurgia - Fortaleza - CE - Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1779-6984
Marcelo Fontenelle Ribeiro Junior Hospital Moriah e IAMSPE, Cirurgia do Trauma e Programa de Pós Graduação - São Paulo - SP - Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9826-4722
Hélio Machado Vieira-Jr Complexo Hospital de Niterói, Serviço de Cirurgia Geral e do Trauma - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8900-3800
Tércio de Campos Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, Cirurgia do Trauma - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
Salomone Di Saverio University of Insubria, University Hospital of Varese, ASST, Department of General Surgery - Sette Laghi - Lombardia - Itália https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5685-5022

Keywords:

Emergencies, Tracheostomy, Pandemics

Resumo

Currently doctors and health professionals are facing a challenging pandemic caused by a new strain called 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Human infection with COVID-19 does not yet have the clinical spectrum fully described, and the pattern of lethality, mortality, infectivity and transmissibility is not known with precision. There is no specific vaccine or medication available. Treatment is supportive and nonspecific. In Brazil, as in the rest of the world, the number of COVID-19 cases has grown alarmingly, leading to an increase in the number of hospitalizations as well as in mortality from the disease. Currently, the states with the highest number of cases are, respectively, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Distrito Federal and Ceará. The objective of this work is to offer alternatives in order to guide surgeons regarding the surgical management of the airways in patients with suspicion and / or confirmation for COVID-19 infection.