Henry Tan Chor Lip,Tan Jih Huei,Yuzaidi Mohamad,Rizal Imran Alwi,Tuan Nur' Azmah Tuan Mat.[J].Chin J Traumatol,2020,23(4):207-210. [doi]

Critical adjustments and trauma surgery trends in adaptation to COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

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KeyWord: PandemicsCOVID-19General surgeryMalaysia

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Author Name	Affiliation
Henry Tan Chor Lip	Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Trauma Surgery Unit, Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tan Jih Huei	Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Trauma Surgery Unit, Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Yuzaidi Mohamad	Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Trauma Surgery Unit, Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Rizal Imran Alwi	Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Trauma Surgery Unit, Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Tuan Nur' Azmah Tuan Mat	Department of General Surgery, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Malaysia Ministry of Health, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

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Abstract:

Malaysia has one of the highest total numbers of COVID-19 infections amongst the Southeast Asian nations, which led to the enforcements of the Malaysian “Movement Control Order” to prohibit disease transmission. The overwhelming increasing amount of infections has led to a major strain on major healthcare services. This leads to shortages in hospital beds, ventilators and critical personnel protective equipment. This article focuses on the critical adaptations from a general surgery department in Malaysia which is part of a Malaysian tertiary hospital that treats COVID-19 cases. The core highlights of these strategies enforced during this pandemic are: (1) surgery ward and clinic decongestions; (2) deferment of elective surgeries; (3) restructuring of medical personnel work force; (4) utilization of online applications for tele-communication; (5) operating room (OR) adjustments and patient screening; and (6)continuing medical education and updating practices in context to COVID-19. These adaptations were important for the continuation of emergency surgery services, preventing transmission of COVID-19 amongst healthcare workers and optimization of medical personnel work force in times of a global pandemic. In addition, an early analysis on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures in Malaysia towards the reduction in total number of elective/emergent/trauma surgeries performed is described in this article.

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