Anesthesia for an emergency gastrorrhagia operation in a patient suspected with COVID-19: a case report

BackgroundThe spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China since December 2019 was very grave. According to Chinese govenment's guidelines, patients can be divided into confirmed cases and suspected cases. The protective measures for both are the same.Case summaryWe report a case of an emergency gastrorrhagia operation for a patient suspected to have contracted COVID-19. A 54-year-old man with massive gastric hemorrhage was scheduled for an emergency operation for exploratory hemostasis. COVID-19 infection, however, could not be ruled out, and the patient was treated as a suspected case. All the protective measures were based on patients infected or suspected to be infected with COVID-19. Before the operation, we carried out a series of protective measures, such as preparing the operating room and wearing personal protective gear. We increased the dose of neuromuscular blocking agents during the induction of anesthesia to prevent the splashing of secretions by coughing. The operation went smoothly, and the patient was transferred to an intensive care unit (ICU) in the isolation ward for extubation. Seven days later, the patient was ruled out for COVID-19 infection. ConclusionThe patient recovered successfully from the massive gastric hemorrhage, and the medical staff were not infected.