Recommendations management of preoperative nasopharyngeal swab screening before non-urgent/elective spine surgery during COVID-19 Situation

Abstract

The coronavirus outbreak has been labeled as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. The patient who was taken non-urgent/elective spine surgery should receive the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) nasopharyngeal (NP) swab for RT-PCR test to prevent the nosocomial cross-infection before surgery. However, there are no standard protocols for preoperative nasopharyngeal swab management for non-urgent/elective spine surgery. This article aims to propose the recommendations of preoperative NP swab for RT-PCR test before non-urgent/elective spine surgery, type of personal protective equipment (PPE) and algorithm for management in COVID-19 situation.