1013 Preoperative Nasopharyngeal Swab Testing and Postoperative Pulmonary Complications in Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery During The SARS-Cov-2 Pandemic

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>

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<jats:title>Introduction</jats:title>

<jats:p>This study aimed to evaluate the association between preoperative SARS-CoV-2 testing and postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing elective cancer surgery.</jats:p>

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<jats:title>Method</jats:title>

<jats:p>International cohort study including adult patients undergoing elective surgery for cancer in areas affected by SARS-CoV-2 up to 19 April 2020 (NCT04384926). Patients suspected preoperatively of SARS-CoV-2 infection were excluded. The primary outcome measure was postoperative pulmonary complications at 30 days after surgery.</jats:p>

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<jats:title>Results</jats:title>

<jats:p>Of 8784 patients (432 hospitals, 53 countries), 2303 patients (26.2%) underwent preoperative testing: 1458 (16.6%) had a swab test, 521 (5.9%) CT only, and 324 (3.7%) swab and CT. The overall pulmonary complication rate was 3.9% and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was 2.6%. After risk adjustment, only a nasopharyngeal swab test (adjusted odds ratio 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.68-0.98, p = 0.040) was associated with lower rates of pulmonary complications. Swab testing remained beneficial before major surgery and in high SARS-CoV-2 population risk areas but not before minor surgery in low incidence areas.</jats:p>

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<jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title>

<jats:p>Preoperative nasopharyngeal swab testing was beneficial before major surgery and in high SARS-CoV-2 incidence areas. There was no proven benefit of swab testing before minor surgery in low incidence areas.</jats:p>

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