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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Revista Urología Colombiana / Colombian Urology Journal 2021; 30(04): e271-e276
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1733841
Original Article

Turning Problems into Opportunities: How to Resume Urological Elective Surgery Using a Scoring System during COVID-19 Outbreak

Convirtiendo problemas en oportunidades: como reanudar la cirugía urológica electiva utilizando un sistema de puntaje durante la pandemia por COVID-19
Julian Chavarriaga 
1   Division of Urology, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
,
Hugo Lopez-Ramos
1   Division of Urology, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
,
Juan Prada
1   Division of Urology, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
,
Nicolas Fernandez
1   Division of Urology, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
2   Division of Urology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States
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Abstract

Objective Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is the largest pandemic in the last century and has created a health care crisis worldwide. Contingency plans have led to put on hold all urological elective surgeries. The aim of the present article is to report the adaptation of the Medically Necessary Time-Sensitive (MeNTS) scoring system to triage patients who were awaiting urological elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods The present study was conducted as a part of a necessary transition of care delivery at a tertiary care institution in order to re-establish urological elective surgery. We triaged all urological elective surgeries with the MeNTS instrument and proposed a cutoff value of 45 points to avoid complications in the COVID-19 crisis while resuming elective procedures.

Results A total of 91 patients awaiting elective urological surgery pending to be rescheduled were identified. Their median age was 60.5 years old (interquartile range [IQR]: 46–93). Twenty-five patients were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I, 51 (56%) were class II, and 12 (13%) were class III. The median MeNTS score was 42 points (IQR: 36–59). Twenty-nine patients had a MeNTS score > 45 and were advised to postpone their surgery. Sixty-two had a score ≤ 45 and were gradually rescheduled.

Conclusions The present study may have practical implications regarding the selection of urological elective surgeries in the challenging health care situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our real-life data showed us that 32% of our procedures must be postponed, and 68% could be carefully considered and gradually rescheduled for surgery.

Resumen

Introducción El coronavirus del síndrome de dificultad respiratoria aguda 2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2, en inglés) causa la llamada enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19, en inglés) que ha generado la pandemia más grande en el último siglo, y ha llevado a una crisis en el sistema de salud a nivel mundial. El objetivo de este artículo es reportar la utilización del sistema médicamente necesario, sensible al tiempo (medically necessary, time-sensitive, MeNTS, en inglés) para gradualmente reanudar la cirugía urológica programada durante la pandemia.

Metodos Este estudio se llevó a cabo como parte de una transición necesaria en la atención en salud para restablecer la cirugía urológica programada. Clasificamos a todos los pacientes utilizando el instrumento MeNTS, y arbitrariamente propusimos un punto de corte de 45 puntos, dinámico de acuerdo con el momento y la situación de la pandemia.

Resultados Un total de 91 pacientes en espera de cirugía urológica programada fueron identificados. La mediana de edad fue de 60.5 años (rango intercuartil [RIC]: 46 a 93 años). En total, 25 (27.4%) pacientes eran clase I en la clasificación de la Sociedad Americana de Anestesiólogos (American Society of Anesthesiologists, ASA), 51 (56%) eran ASA II, y 12 (13%), ASA III. La mediana del puntaje del MeNTS fue de 42 puntos (RIC: 36 a 59). En total, 29 pacientes tuvieron un puntaje de MeNTS mayor a 45 puntos, y se les recomendó posponer su cirugía electiva; 62 (68%) tuvieron un puntaje ≤ 45 puntos, y se reprogramaron gradualmente a partir del 1ro de mayo de 2020.

Conclusiones Este estudio puede tener varias implicaciones practicas a la hora de seleccionar pacientes para reprogramar su cirugía urológica electiva durante situaciones desafiantes para los sistemas de salud, como la pandemia por COVID-19. Nuestros datos de la práctica clínica real muestran que el 32% de los procedimientos se deben posponer, y el 68% pueden considerarse cuidadosamente para ser reprogramados gradualmente.

Keywords

coronaviruses - COVID-19 - surgical procedure - pandemic - urological surgical procedure - SARS-CoV-2 infection

Palabras Clave

coronavirus - COVID-19 - procedimiento quirúrgico - pandemia - procedimiento quirúrgico urológico - infección por SARS-CoV-2

Responsabilidades Éticas

Protección de personas y animales. Los autores declaran que los procedimientos seguidos se conformaron a las normas éticas del comité de experimentación humana responsable y de acuerdo con la Asociación Médica Mundial y la Declaración de Helsinki.


Confidencialidad de los datos. Los autores declaran que han seguido los protocolos de su centro de trabajo sobre la publicación de datos de pacientes.


Derecho a la privacidad y consentimiento informado. Los autores han obtenido el consentimiento informado de los pacientes y/o sujetos referidos en el artículo. Este documento obra en poder del autor de correspondencia.




Publication History

Received: 22 January 2021

Accepted: 02 July 2021

Article published online:
13 August 2021

© 2021. Sociedad Colombiana de Urología. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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