INTRODUCTION
Reports describe high mortality and prolonged mechanical ventilation in
surgical patients who diagnosed with COVID-19 in the peri-operative
period [1-2]. In our own experience, developing COVID-19 in the
immediate postoperative period following cardiac surgery carried a
mortality up to 44% [3], mostly due to a combination of respiratory
and renal failure likely exacerbated by the inflammatory effects of
cardiopulmonary bypass.
Depending on the cardiac diagnosis, there might be an option to treat
the patients medically, with less invasive procedures (i.e. PCI, TAVI or
endovascular procedures) or to defer surgery until there is negative
conversion of COVID-19 status, not knowing the optimum time from
infection to cardiac surgery.
We analysed the outcomes of cardiac surgery in patients who underwent
cardiac surgery after recovering from COVID-19.