Pathology
Evolution of COVID-19 Guidelines for University of Washington Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Patient Care

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2020.04.034Get rights and content

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (SC2) virus, in late December 2019 has placed an overwhelming strain on healthcare institutions nationwide. The modern healthcare system has never managed a pandemic of this magnitude, the ramifications of which will undoubtedly lead to lasting changes in policy and protocol development for viral testing guidelines, personal protective equipment (PPE), surgical scheduling, and residency education and training. The State of Washington had the first reported case and death related to COVID-19 in the United States. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons have a unique risk of exposure to SC2 and developing COVID-19 because of our proximity of working in and around the oropharynx and nasopharynx. The present report has summarized the evolution of COVID-19 guidelines in 4 key areas: 1) preoperative SC2 testing; 2) PPE stewardship; 3) surgical scheduling guidelines; and 4) resident education and training for oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

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The present study was supported in part by the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery's Laboratory for Applied Clinical Research and the Education and Research Fund.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Dillon is the recipient of an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation and an Osteo Science Foundation grant, outside the scope of the present study. Dr Dodson is a consultant to American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and provides service as Associate Editor of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. None of the remaining authors have any relevant financial relationship(s) with a commercial interest.

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