General thoracic surgery services across Asia during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanghoon JheonAneez Db AhmedVincent Wt FangWoohyun JungAli Zamir KhanJang-Ming LeeJun NakajimaAlan Dl SihoePunnarerk ThongcharoenMasahiro TsuboiAkif TurnaPublished in: Asian cardiovascular & thoracic annals (2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 posed an historic challenge to healthcare systems around the world. Besides mounting a massive response to the viral outbreak, healthcare systems needed to consider provision of clinical services to other patients in need. Surgical services for patients with thoracic disease were maintained to different degrees across various regions of Asia, ranging from significant reductions to near-normal service. Key determinants of robust thoracic surgery service provision included: preexisting plans for an epidemic response, aggressive early action to "flatten the curve", ability to dedicate resources separately to COVID-19 and routine clinical services, prioritization of thoracic surgery, and the volume of COVID-19 cases in that region. The lessons learned can apply to other regions during this pandemic, and to the world, in preparation for the next one.
Keyphrases
- thoracic surgery
- healthcare
- sars cov
- coronavirus disease
- mental health
- primary care
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- palliative care
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- spinal cord
- health information
- clinical practice
- spinal cord injury
- high resolution
- liquid chromatography
- patient reported