Scientists from the UK have found that patients can be operated on 2 weeks after being diagnosed with COVID if they recover successfully. This will reduce the recommended delay in surgery from seven weeks to two weeks. Research published in the journal Anesthesia.
Scientists from the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield analyzed the results of 3.6 million patients from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) databases.
The study examined transactions between March 17, 2018 and March 17, 2022.
Overall, the 30-day post-operative mortality was 0.2% after heavy use of vaccines. After a positive test, the mortality rate is 1.1% after surgery performed within two weeks, and drops to 0.3% after four weeks. In another study, this figure was 9.1%. Scientists attribute this to the fact that the results are evaluated before the distribution of vaccines.
Before the onset of the COVID pandemic, the overall 30-day postoperative mortality in this study was 0.1%, which is only slightly lower than after the introduction of vaccines.
For many patients, delaying surgery may do more harm than good, the scientists said. Therefore, they conclude that in most cases, surgery can be performed two weeks after a patient is diagnosed with COVID. Its results do not apply to patients with persistent COVID symptoms or weakened immune systems.
Source: Gazeta
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