According to a new study conducted by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), it is safe to conduct surgeries in Covid-19 positive patients infected by the Omicron variant as the surgeries are not associated with higher chances of complications or deaths.
In earlier waves of the pandemic, surgeries were regarded as unsafe due to associated complications. Joint Secretary to the health Ministry Lav Agarwal said that patients who need surgery need not be denied it.
The study, carried out between December 20, 2021, and January 20, 2022, involved 53 Covid-19 positive patients who were made to undergo surgeries, according to TOI. Of these, Lav informed 32 had received regional anaesthesia, including 26 women who underwent the Caesarean section, while 21 were given general anaesthesia.
Citing the study’s findings, Agarwal said that no complications during surgery and immediate postoperative period were found. He further informed that no deaths and complications in other cases as well were noted. “Besides, 21 cases were done under general anaesthesia, which included six cases of laparotomy, four cases of decompressive craniectomy, two cases each of tracheostomy and amputation.”
The chest X-rays of all 21 patients were not suggestive of Covid in the perioperative period (during surgery), indicating no respiratory complication after general anaesthesia in the Covid positive patients, Agarwal added. Of the total 21 cases, 17 survived and four died. Deaths that occurred were primarily due to other causes and not linked or aggravated due to Covid-19 infection, he added.