Surge in COVID-positives to operate on, protocols lacking

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 17 - There is currently a surge in COVID-positive patients to operate on for tumours and bone fractures but protocols are lacking and there is the risk of chaos, the head of the Italian society of intensive care doctors and anaestheticians (SIAARTI), Antonio Giarratano, told ANSA Monday.
    The recent growth in cases linked to the Omicron strain of the coronavirus is highlighting a new critical issue, that of COVID patients without symptoms who must have surgery, for example for cancer and fractures, but who come out positive when they enter the hospital, he said.
    "It is a population in exponential growth, for whom we need protocols and dedicated spaces that are not codified today, with the result that every hospital gets by as it sees fit: in some cases they are operated on, in others there are dangerous delays, while places in wards destined for critical COVID cases get occupied.
    "We need indications in order to avert chaos". (ANSA).