To the Editors:
We write to share the experience in COVID-19 transmission control at our hospital, National Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CNCMA) in Havana, Cuba. The institution is the national reference center for application, training and research related to minimally invasive surgical procedures.[1]
From April through October, 2020, 719 surgeries were performed and 3529 patients were seen in CNCMA’s outpatient services, completing 47.0% of annually planned surgeries and 56.2% of ambulatory consults for the period. Of 410 current employees, 379 (92.4%) have been incorporated on-site. As of this writing (November 7), all services have been re-established as well as part of our academic activities, and no cases of COVID-19 have been reported among patients or staff.
Implementing the institutional protocol for surgical activity during the pandemic[4] has been essential for normalizing our work and providing quality medical care to patients. Its guidelines could be useful for similar institutions as well as to supplement the National Protocol for COVID-19 Prevention and Control with respected to surgical activities.
- National Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CU) [Internet]. Havana: National Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CU); c2020 [updated 2020 Oct 27; cited 2020 Nov 5]. Available at: http://www.cce.sld.cu/. Spanish.
- Ministry of Public Health (CU). Protocolo de actuación nacional para la COVID-19. Versión 1.5. [Internet]. Havana: Ministry of Public Health (CU); 2020 Aug [cited 2020 Oct 30]. 215 p. Available at: https://files.sld.cu/editorhome/files/2020/08/VERSION-5-DEL-PROTOCOLO-PARA-PUBLICAR-13-DE-AGOSTO-2020.pdf. Spanish.
- Ministry of Public Health (CU). Resolución128. Disposiciones sanitarias para la etapa de prevención y control de la propagación de la COVID-19 del MINSAP [Internet]. Havana: Ministry of Public Health (CU); 2020 May 11 [cited 2020 Jun 10]; [about 7 p.]. Available at: http://juriscuba.com/resolucion-no-128-2020/. Spanish.
- National Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CU). Actuación en situación de pandemia de COVID-19 [Internet]. Havana: National Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CU); 2020 [cited 2020 Nov 5]. 22 p. Available at: http://www.cce.sld.cu/pub/pno-covid-19-cncma.pdf . Spanish.
- Ministry of Public Health (CU), Vice ministry of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, National Department of Epidemiology. Programa de prevención y control de las infecciones asociadas a la asistencia sanitaria. Versión 0.5. Havana: Ministry of Public Health (CU); 2011. Spanish.
Julián Francisco Ruiz-Torres MD PhD, Director, National Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CNCMA), Havana, Cuba. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0024-6487
Tania González-León MD PhD (tania@cce.sld.cu), CNCMA, Havana, Cuba. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3813-9588
Rafael de la Caridad Torres-Peña MD PhD, CNCMA, Havana, Cuba. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6599-987X
Daimarelis Guerra-del Valle MD MS, CNCMA, Havana, Cuba. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8439-4996
Javier Barrera-González MD PhD, CNCMA, Havana, Cuba. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3867-0985
Rosalba Roque-González MD PhD, CNCMA, Havana, Cuba. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5014-872X
