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International Surgical Sleep Society COVID-19 Ad Hoc Task Force Members
Raj C. Dedhia, MD MSCR (North America) [Chair]
Stacey L. Ishman, MD MPH (North America) [ISSS President]
Crystal SJ Cheong, MD (Asia)
Julia Crawford, MD (Australia)
Mary Frances Musso, DO (North America)
Madeline JL Ravesloot, MD, PhD, MSc (Europe)
Michel B. Cahali, MD, PhD (South America)
Overview
As of March 2020, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused unprecedented, worldwide disruption in patient care, including the management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Members of the International Surgical Sleep Society (ISSS) represent a unique group of OSA specialists providing surgical treatment of adult and pediatric OSA. Preventative measures of the COVID-19 outbreak have resulted in either partial or complete arrest of non-urgent surgical procedures. Thus, the health of patients requiring surgical therapy for OSA are being negatively affected by unexpected treatment delay.
This document herein aims to provide guidelines for the community of both adult and pediatric OSA treatment providers in the COVID-19 crisis. The objectives of this taskforce:
While these objectives cannot provide specific timelines for resumption of sleep surgeries, they are meant to provide a framework which can be applied to evolving and locale-specific COVID-19 threat levels.
Objective 1: To develop criteria for high-priority sleep surgery patients
Objective 2: To identify temporizing management strategies for patients awaiting sleep surgery
Objective 3: To assess relative safety & resource consumption for various surgical classes
Table 1
Transmission Risk |
Resource Consumption |
|
Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Nasal Surgery |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Upper Pharyngeal Surgery |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Lower Pharyngeal Surgery |
Moderate |
High |
Laryngeal Surgery |
High |
High |
Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation |
Low |
Moderate |
Skeletal Surgery |
High |
High |
Tracheostomy |
High |
High |
References