Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35655401›Full record

SynthesisANZ journal of surgery2022

SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk to healthcare workers performing tracheostomies: a systematic review.

Ashwin Subramaniam, Zheng Jie Lim, Mallikarjuna Ponnapa Reddy, Hayden Mitchell, Kiran Shekar

Open access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in ANZ journal of surgery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 52% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Ashwin SubramaniamDepartment of Intensive Care Medicine, Peninsula Health, Melbourne, Victoria.ORCID 0000-0002-8292-7357
Zheng Jie LimDepartment of Anaesthesia, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-8864-4844
Mallikarjuna Ponnapa ReddyDepartment of Intensive Care Medicine, Peninsula Health, Melbourne, Victoria.
Hayden MitchellDepartment of Medicine, Peninsula Health, Frankston, Victoria, Australia.
Kiran ShekarAdult Intensive Care Services, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Peninsula Health · AUAustin Hospital · AUAustralian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society · AUBond University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTracheostomy is a commonly performed procedure in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) receiving mechanical ventilation (MV). This review aims to investigate the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from patients to healthcare workers (HCWs) when tracheostomies are performed.

methodsThis systematic review used the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis framework. Studies reporting SARS-CoV-2 infection in HCWs involved in tracheostomy procedures were included.

resultsSixty-nine studies (between 01/11/2019 and 16/01/2022) reporting 3117 tracheostomy events were included, 45.9% (1430/3117) were performed surgically. The mean time from MV initiation to tracheostomy was 16.7 ± 7.9 days. Location of tracheostomy, personal protective equipment used, and anaesthesia technique varied between studies. The mean procedure duration was 14.1 ± 7.5 minutes; was statistically longer for percutaneous tracheostomies compared with surgical tracheostomies (mean duration 17.5 ± 7.0 versus 15.5 ± 5.6 minutes, p = 0.02). Across 5 out of 69 studies that reported 311 tracheostomies, 34 HCWs tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 23/34 (67.6%) were associated with percutaneous tracheostomies.

conclusionsIn this systematic review we found that SARS-CoV-2 transmission to HCWs performing or assisting with a tracheostomy procedure appeared to be low, with all reported transmissions occurring in 2020, prior to vaccinations and more recent strains of SARS-CoV-2. Transmissions may be higher with percutaneous tracheostomies. However, an accurate estimation of infection risk was not possible in the absence of the actual number of HCWs exposed to the risk during the procedure and the inability to control for multiple confounders related to variable timing, technique, and infection control practices.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2Health PersonnelHumansPersonal Protective EquipmentTracheostomyCOVID-19healthcare workerInfectionSARS-CoV-2tracheostomy

Identifiers

PMID35655401
PMCPMC9347596
OpenAlexW4281938659

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.