Experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the national task force for Covid-19 have advised undergoing a non-urgent surgery on a Covid-recovered patient only after six weeks of recovery to ensure faster healing and convalescent hearing.
The experts are of the opinion that the RT-PCR tests which patients opting for non-urgent or elective surgeries are being asked to do by surgeons may bore positive test result due to the presence of harmless non-viable dead-virus remnants in the body.
Covid reinfection is confirmed only after 102 days of diagnosis hence it is advisable to delay surgeries till this time has lapsed, said infectious diseases expert Sanjay Pujari to TOI.
However, in case of emergency surgeries, in recovering or recovered patients, it must be get done with immediately while taking all the necessary precautions, the doctor added.
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Doctor Pujari also stressed the importance of a preoperative evaluation of Covid recovered patients well ahead of surgery with a special focus on the cardiopulmonary systems.
“Residual symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain are common in patients who have had Covid. These symptoms can be present for more than 60 days after diagnosis,” said doctor Pujari while emphasizing the need for a preoperative risk assessment as per the guidelines issued by the American Society of Anaesthesiology
Meanwhile, other doctors were of the opinon that retesting recovered patients within 102 days from Covid diagnosis is a waste of time and leads to anxiety.
Here is the list of the suggested time period a patient should wait before undergoing an operation.
- Four weeks for an asymptomatic patient or someone who has recovered from only mild, non-respiratory symptoms
- Six weeks for a symptomatic patient (including cough, shortness of breath) who did not require hospitalization
- Eight to 10 weeks for the asymptomatic patient who is is diabetic, immunocompromised, or was hospitalized with Covid-19
- Twelve weeks for a patient who was admitted to ICU with Covid-19 and so forth
India on Sunday recorded less than 2 lakh Covid cases for the third consecutive day with 1.65 lakh fresh infections, taking the overall case count to 2.78 crore. The positivity rate remained below 10 percent for sixth straight day amid battle against second wave.
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