No pre-procedure COVID test

[George K]

I had hand surgery about a year ago. Before going to surgery, I had to have a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the procedure. Mrs. George had an endoscopy and the same thing happened.

Now, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation are saying it's not necessary. I wonder how long it'll be before hospitals, etc drop this requirement.

he American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) recently updated their advice to recommend against routine, universal COVID-19 testing before procedures and surgery in asymptomatic patients. The updated statement, revising previous guidance, supports a commentary from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) published in December 2022.

“Throughout the pandemic, our recommendations have been based on the scientific evidence available at the time, in conjunction with expert opinion, and updated as new information arises,” said ASA President Michael W. Champeau, MD, FASA. “We now know that testing patients who do not have COVID-19 symptoms is unlikely to provide any benefit in preventing the virus in the healthcare environment where other infection prevention strategies are in place and, therefore, should not be considered a requirement.”

The updated ASA/APSF statement highlights the SHEA recommendations that:

• provide a rationale for a shift from universal screening; and
• maintain that the use of asymptomatic screening is a unique yet resource-intensive tool that arguably has been overused. Prior to implementation of a large-scale asymptomatic screening program, strengthening existing layers of protection (e.g., universal N95 respirator use when performing certain procedures on any patient, active versus passive screening of healthcare personnel for signs of COVID-19 and enhanced ventilation) is a more practical and reasonable approach.

The statement also notes that each healthcare facility should develop a risk/benefit analysis that includes local/facility infection prevention assessment (e.g., patient population, facility physical layout, and community incidence and transmission of COVID-19), and a robust system of controls and interventions to prevent virus transmission.

[jon-nyc]

Columbia didn't have me do one when I got skin cancer scraped off my back in September, but did have me do one two months later when I got skin cancer scraped off my face (Mohs). Both in similar rooms on the same floor in the same department with local anesthesia.

I think the Mohs by some technicality counts as a 'surgical procedure'.

[Jolly]

Around here, it's still mandatory if you are admitted to the hospital.