Title
Letter: Safety Considerations for Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Neurological Surgery
Publication Date
2020-05-07
Document Type
Letter to the Editor
Disciplines
Health Services Administration | Infectious Disease | Nervous System Diseases | Neurology | Surgery | Surgical Procedures, Operative | Virus Diseases
Abstract
The highest viral load for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is found in the lungs, nasopharynx, and oropharynx. Thus, working in close proximity to the face likely represents the greatest risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure for neurosurgeons, many of whom have contracted and/or died from COVID-19. However, sources of exposure other than the respiratory tract should also be considered. SARS-CoV-2 viremia has been reported. SARS-CoV (which is closely related to SARS-CoV-2) can invade the brain. SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid has been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of COVID-19 patients with altered mental status, intracranial hypertension, and/or brain imaging abnormalities, raising the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 meningitis or encephalitis. Thus, blood, brain, and CSF should be treated as potentially infectious until proven otherwise.
Keywords
COVID-19, Coronavirus, neurosurgery, infection, safety
DOI of Published Version
10.1093/neuros/nyaa196
Source
Daci R, Natarajan SK, Johnson MD. Letter: Safety Considerations for Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Neurosurgery. 2020 May 7:nyaa196. doi: 10.1093/neuros/nyaa196. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32379310. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Neurosurgery
Related Resources
PubMed ID
32379310
Repository Citation
Daci R, Natarajan SK, Johnson MD. (2020). Letter: Safety Considerations for Neurosurgical Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic. COVID-19 Publications by UMMS Authors. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuros/nyaa196. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/covid19/26