Acute cholecystitis during COVID-19 pandemic: a multisocietary position statement

World J Emerg Surg. 2020 Jun 8;15(1):38. doi: 10.1186/s13017-020-00317-0.

Abstract

Following the spread of the infection from the new SARS-CoV2 coronavirus in March 2020, several surgical societies have released their recommendations to manage the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the daily clinical practice. The recommendations on emergency surgery have fueled a debate among surgeons on an international level.We maintain that laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains the treatment of choice for acute cholecystitis, even in the COVID-19 era. Moreover, since laparoscopic cholecystectomy is not more likely to spread the COVID-19 infection than open cholecystectomy, it must be organized in such a way as to be carried out safely even in the present situation, to guarantee the patient with the best outcomes that minimally invasive surgery has shown to have.

Keywords: Acute cholecystitis; COVID-19 pandemic; Emergency surgery; New coronavirus; Position statement.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Betacoronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Cholecystectomy / methods
  • Cholecystectomy / standards*
  • Cholecystitis, Acute / surgery*
  • Cholecystitis, Acute / virology
  • Coronavirus Infections / complications*
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Humans
  • Infection Control / standards*
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / complications*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / virology
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Societies, Medical