Covid-19: General Guidelines For Cardiovascular Surgeons (standard guidelines – subject to change)

We are experiencing a pandemic of the new Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus and its clinical presentation as a disease, the Covid-19. Since the first cases, recorded in December last year in the fish market in Wuhan, China, Sars-Cov-2 has infected thousands of people around the world, and with this, an avalanche of information and emotions has changed the world economy and the routine of many people. Important considerations should be given to our readers regarding cardiac surgery, surgical teams, our patients, and their possible contacts.

The identification of Covid-19 cases as a notifiable disease is guided by criteria that are constantly updated by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. At the time of this editorial, those cases in which the patient presents with fever and respiratory symptoms of the common cold, cough, difficulty breathing, and nasal wing beat, among others, and which are associated with a recent history of travel to a region with local transmission, or of close contact with a suspected case, or of contact with a laboratory-confirmed case, in the 14 days prior to the appearance of signs or symptoms, are considered suspect cases. It is estimated that the average incubation period of Covid-19 is 5.2 days, which can reach 14 days. The average period of transmission of this disease is 5 days after the onset of symptoms, however, it is believed that transmission can occur even in the absence of symptoms. On the other hand, confirmed cases, regardless of clinical presentation, are those with confirmatory laboratory tests of Covid-19