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Surgery and COVID-19

Educational Objective
To understand how COVID-19 is affecting the field of surgery
1 Credit CME

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a substantial effect on surgeons and patients who require surgical care. Providing care for patients with surgical disease requires a unique and intimate relationship between the patient and surgeon, and this interaction and contact cannot be replaced by telehealth. As such, the surgical workforce has faced distinct challenges compared with nonsurgical specialties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific issues include the best approach to protect health care personnel and the patient; the ability to efficiently regulate delivery of surgical care; the detrimental effects on patients with surgical disease; the financial implications of the pandemic on health care systems; the management of surgical workforce shortages; the implications for education, research, and career development; and the emotional toll to all involved.

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CME Disclosure Statement: Unless noted, all individuals in control of content reported no relevant financial relationships. If applicable, all relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

Article Information

Corresponding Author: Melina R. Kibbe, MD, Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 101 Manning Dr, Burnett Womack Bldg, Ste 4041, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7050 (melina_kibbe@med.unc.edu).

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

References
1.
Weber  DJ , Babcock  H , Hayden  MK ,  et al; SHEA Board of Trustees.  Universal pandemic precautions—an idea ripe for the times.   Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. Published online July 3, 2020. doi:10.1017/ice.2020.327PubMedGoogle Scholar
2.
Livingston  EH .  Surgery in a time of uncertainty: a need for universal respiratory precautions in the operating room.   JAMA. 2020;323(22):2254-2255. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.7903PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
3.
Doglietto  F , Vezzoli  M , Gheza  F ,  et al.  Factors Associated with surgical mortality and complications among patients with and without coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Italy.   JAMA Surg. 2020;155(8):691-702. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.2713PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
4.
Lin  EE , Blumberg  TJ , Adler  AC ,  et al.  Incidence of COVID-19 in pediatric surgical patients among 3 US children’s hospitals.   JAMA Surg. 2020;155(8):775-777. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.2588PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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Morris  M , Pierce  A , Carlisle  B , Vining  B , Dobyns  J .  Pre-operative COVID-19 testing and decolonization.   Am J Surg. Published online May 21, 2020. doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.05.027PubMedGoogle Scholar
6.
Nassar  AH , Zern  NK , McIntyre  LK ,  et al.  Emergency restructuring of a general surgery residency program during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: the University of Washington experience.   JAMA Surg. 2020;155(7):624-627. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.1219PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
7.
Zarzaur  BL , Stahl  CC , Greenberg  JA , Savage  SA , Minter  RM .  Blueprint for restructuring a department of surgery in concert with the health care system during a pandemic: the University of Wisconsin experience.   JAMA Surg. 2020;155(7):628-635. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.1386PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
8.
Juprasert  JM , Gray  KD , Moore  MD ,  et al.  Restructuring of a general surgery residency program in an epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: lessons from New York City.   JAMA Surg. Published online July 7, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.3107PubMedGoogle Scholar
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Knudson  MM , Jacobs  LM  Jr , Elster  CEA .  How to partner with the military in responding to pandemics—a blueprint for success.   JAMA Surg. 2020;155(7):548-549. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.1227PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
10.
Kibbe  MR .  Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on manuscript submissions by women.   JAMA Surgery. Published online August 4, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.3917PubMedGoogle Scholar
AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
  • 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
  • 1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
  • 1.00 credit toward the CME [and Self-Assessment requirements] of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.

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