COVID-19 and Urology
We all know (in fact in
this IT era and with nonstop information bombardment, the knowledge difference
between doctors and the non-medical public has narrowed significantly!) that Coronavirus is a respiratory virus. It is spread from person to person by three
means.
1)
Droplets: Whenever a person coughs or sneezes, he releases thousands of
droplets containing viruses and these droplets can get into the nose or mouth
of a person in front of him.
2)
Fomites: These droplets which are carried by sneeze and cough fall
on the floor, tables, and chairs or on the surface of any object. The viruses can
survive for many hours on these surfaces and whenever someone touches these
objects and then touches his face he can get infected.
3)
Aerosols: There is new evidence that these viruses are transmitted
into the air by the very act of speaking even without cough or sneeze. Therefore we
are at risk even by being in front of a person while he is speaking.
In addition to
respiratory tract, COVID-19 is shed in saliva and faeces too.
Luckily so far, it has
not been detected in urine. This means it cannot be spread by urinals or
contaminated urine. It also means that a urologist is at a lesser risk of
getting infected as compared to some other specialities. It does not mean that
one can be carefree about disposing of urine. Who knows, we may come across new
evidence that it can be carried through urine also.
Are urological surgeries safe during this
pandemic?
Any surgery carries a
risk of contamination and infection irrespective of the organ being operated
upon. However, the risk across specialities is different. For instance, ENT,
dental, facio-maxillary and facial surgeries carry the highest risk for the
surgeon as well as the patient because of the proximity of the doctor’s and
patient’s faces. Urological surgeries carry a lower risk because the surgeon is
nowhere near the patient’s face.
However, it still carries a risk because of the following
reasons:
1. Anaesthesia
and surgery is immunologically stressful events which means the body immunity
level comes down during the procedure. Therefore the patient has a higher risk
of developing COVID infection during or after the surgery.
2. General anaesthesia: Whenever general anaesthesia is given there is a mask in
the oral cavity or a tube in the throat through which anaesthesia gases are
given. These carry a high risk of transmitting the virus.
3. Hospital environment: When a patient is admitted in the hospital, he
is at high risk for infection because there is a constant movement of the
people some of whom could be infected.
Therefore it is safer to
avoid all non-emergency surgeries during the pandemic.
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