Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37985848›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2023

Viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in surgical smoke in minimally invasive and open surgery: a single-center prospective clinical trial.

Amila Cizmic, Vanessa M Eichel, Niklas M Weidner, Philipp A Wise, Felix Müller, Ingmar F Rompen, Ralf Bartenschlager, Paul Schnitzler, Felix Nickel, Beat P Müller-Stich

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 25% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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

10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Amila CizmicDepartment of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Vanessa M EichelDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Section Infection Control University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Niklas M WeidnerDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Philipp A WiseDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Felix MüllerDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Ingmar F RompenDepartment of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Ralf BartenschlagerDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Paul SchnitzlerDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Felix NickelDepartment of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Beat P Müller-StichDepartment of Digestive Surgery, University Digestive Healthcare Center Basel, Kleinriehenstrasse 30, 4058, Basel, Switzerland. Beat.mueller@clarunis.ch.
University Hospital Heidelberg · DEHeidelberg University · DEUniversität Hamburg · DEUniversity Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf · DEUniversity of Basel · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was assumed that SARS-CoV-2 could be transmitted through surgical smoke generated by electrocauterization. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) was targeted due to potentially higher concentrations of the SARS-CoV-2 particles in the pneumoperitoneum. Some surgical societies even recommended open surgery instead of MIS to prevent the potential spread of SARS-CoV-2 from the pneumoperitoneum. This study aimed to detect SARS-CoV-2 in surgical smoke during open and MIS. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who underwent open surgery or MIS at Heidelberg University Hospital were included in the study. A control group of patients without SARS-CoV-2 infection undergoing MIS or open surgery was included for comparison. The trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of Heidelberg University Medical School (S-098/2021). The following samples were collected: nasopharyngeal and intraabdominal swabs, blood, urine, surgical smoke, and air samples from the operating room. An SKC BioSampler was used to sample the surgical smoke from the pneumoperitoneum during MIS and the approximate surgical field during open surgery in 15 ml of sterilized phosphate-buffered saline. An RT-PCR test was performed on all collected samples to detect SARS-CoV-2 viral particles. Twelve patients with proven SARS-CoV-2 infection underwent open abdominal surgery. Two SARS-CoV-2-positive patients underwent an MIS procedure. The control group included 24 patients: 12 underwent open surgery and 12 MIS. One intraabdominal swab in a patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection was positive for SARS-CoV-2. However, during both open surgery and MIS, none of the surgical smoke samples showed any detectable viral particles of SARS-CoV-2. The air samples collected at the end of the surgical procedure showed no viral particles of SARS-CoV-2. Major complications (CD ≥ IIIa) were more often observed in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients (10 vs. 4, p = 0.001). This study showed no detectable viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 in surgical smoke sampled during MIS and open surgery. Thus, the discussed risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via surgical smoke could not be confirmed in the present study.

Indexed as

COVID-19PneumoperitoneumHumansPandemicsProspective StudiesSARS-CoV-2SmokeViral LoadSmoke

Identifiers

PMID37985848
PMCPMC10662446
OpenAlexW4388819760

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.