Anaesthesiology Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal

Authors

  • Joana Pedreira Interna do Internato de Formação Específica em Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6949-1106
  • Ana Dias Interna do Internato de Formação Específica em Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, Porto, Portugal; MEDCIDS – Departamento de Medicina da Comunidade, Informação e Decisão em Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; CINTESIS – Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde, Porto, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2542-9730
  • Ana Ribeiro Assistente Hospitalar do Serviço de Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1067-4215
  • Sofia Marques Assistente Hospitalar do Serviço de Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8538-1134
  • Elisabete Pereira Assistente Hospitalar do Serviço de Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar de Trás-Os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0048-516X
  • Liliana Paulo Assistente Hospitalar do Serviço de Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8694-5360
  • Fernando Abelha Assistente Hospitalar Graduado Sénior do Serviço de Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de São João, Porto, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2805-2908
  • Rosário Órfão Assistente Hospitalar Graduada Sénior do Serviço de Anestesiologia do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25751/rspa.20183

Keywords:

Anaesthesiologists, Surveys and Questionnaires, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Perioperative Medicine, Health Management

Abstract

Background: In Portugal, there have been more than 30,000 COVID-19 cases. Anaesthesiologists played a major role in the pandemic context, due to its transversality to several areas, namely Intensive Care, Emergency Pain Therapy and Perioperative Medicine in the operating room, outside the operating room and Obstetrics. The main goals of this study were to characterize the role of Anaesthesiology during the COVID-19 pandemic and to measure the organization of hospital institutions in Portugal.

Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, descriptive and analytical study, carried through an email survey, addressed to residents and specialists in Anaesthesiology working in Portugal. The survey was composed of 10 sociodemographic and professional questions, 20 questions to characterize the structure of human resources and 35 questions about the service's logistical management. 

Results: A total of 266 survey responses were collected. 47.4% of the respondents contributed directly to the care of COVID-19 patients. Regarding the logistical management of the Services, 80% admitted that their Service has developed a contingency plan; 41.4% reported the conversion of Post-anaesthetic Care Units into Intensive Care Units and 66.9% reported an increase in the capacity of intensive care above 75% of the original number of beds. The majority agreed that their Department of Anaesthesiology managed human resources properly during the pandemic.

Discussion and Conclusions: The role of Anaesthesiology was crucial during COVID-19 pandemic in several areas. In the fight against this pandemic, Portuguese anaesthesiologists reorganized themselves, creating new working routines to improve the outcome of patients and minimize the risks of infection by COVID-19.

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Published

2020-08-23

How to Cite

Pedreira, J., Dias, A., Ribeiro, A., Marques, S., Pereira, E., Paulo, L., Abelha, F., & Órfão, R. (2020). Anaesthesiology Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal. Journal of the Portuguese Society of Anesthesiology, 29(2), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.25751/rspa.20183

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 2 (2020): Revista da Sociedade Portuguesa de Anestesiologia

Section

Original Article

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