Coronavirus in the Operating room

AORN continues to monitor the coronavirus status and has provided the tool kit below with regularly updated links to important resources to support decision-making in your perioperative practice. For AORN clinical guidance, please go to our COVID-19 Support page.

As the COVID-19 surge wanes in different parts of the country, patients’ pent-up demand to resume elective surgeries will be immense. To ensure patients can have elective surgeries as soon as safely possible, a roadmap to guide readiness, prioritization and scheduling has been developed by Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), American College of Surgeons (ACS), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and American  Hospital Association (AHA).

Read the Roadmap

Vaccines

• Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work (5/24/22)
• Stay Up to Date with Your Vaccines | CDC (5/24/22)
• Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination (5/24/22)
• COVID-19 Vaccination | CDC (5/24/22)
• ANA Guiding Principles for Nurses and the COVID-19 Vaccines (12/16/20)

PPE Selection and Use

• AORN, ASA, and APSF Clarification of Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR) Use in the Operating Room and Other Procedural Areas in Which Sterile Fields are Present (7/1/20)

Donning/Doffing

• Simulation to Improve Infection Prevention and Patient Safety (SIPPS) Dissemination (6/4/20)
• Nebraska Medicine
• PPE Sequence - CDC (4/3/20)

Respirators/N95/Masks

• Surgical N95 Respirators (6/3/22)
• CDC: Elastomeric Half Mask Respirator Strategies (10/13/20)
• NIOSH: Respirator Exhalation Valve Research (1/5/21)
• Selecting Respirators for Your Healthcare Facility (6/30/21)

Protective Clothing

• Considerations for Selecting Protective Clothing - CDC

Leadership Skills

• Five Key Ways to Support Health Care Workers in the Midst of Crisis (2/12/21)

Infection Prevention and Control 

General Guidance

Updated June 2022

• CPR in patients diagnosed with COVID (12/28/21)
• Infection Control Guidance for Healthcare Professionals (2/2/22)
• Managing HCP with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure (1/21/22)
• Quarantine and Isolation (3/30/22)
• CDC Obstetric Guidance (11/19/21)
• CDC Questions and Answers about COVID-19 (6/8/22)

Environmental Cleaning

• ECRI Disinfectant Concentrations for EPA List N (6/1/21)
• Aerosol Generating Procedures (10/22/20)
• Disinfectants - EPA (4/3/20)
• Airborne Contaminant Removal - CDC (4/3/20)

Perioperative Guidance

• Increased diabetes risk among persons aged <18 years following COVID-19 (1/7/22)
• SARS-CoV-2 infection and venous thromboembolism after surgery (9/2/21)
• ASA and APSF Joint Statement on elective Surgery and Anesthesia for Patients after COVID-19 Infection (2/22/22)
  
• COVID-19 Tests (9/22/21)

APSF/ASA

• ASA and APSF Statement on Perioperative Testing for the COVID-19 Virus (6/15/22)
• APSF Anesthesia Resource Center (8/4/21)

Self-Care Strategies

• Gratitude Workbook (8/13/20)
• APNA Stress Checklist (4/14/20)

Nursing Skills

• Help I’m Being Asked to Work in the COVID ICU! (9/2/21)
• EKG: basic skills (4/14/20)
• Know Your ABGs – Arterial Blood Gases Explained (4/14/20)
• Prone Ventilation for Adult patients w/Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (4/14/20)
• Ventilator Training (4/20)
• COVID-19 Pulmonary, ARDS and Ventilator Resources (12/2/21)

Supply Shortage Resources

• Strategies for Sharps Disposal Container Use During Supply Shortages For Managers and Purchase Agents (4/12/21)
• Vetted Non-Traditional Suppliers (12/2/21)
• PPE Supply Equivalents (8/13/20)
• Project N95 connects providers with critical equipment (4/7/20)

Other Resources

• COVID Data Tracker (6/9/22)
• CDC's Infection Control Training (3/24/21)
• CMS COVID-19 Toolkit (12/2/21)
• ACS
• ASPAN
• Elsevier
• FDA COVID-19 and Medical Devices (8/13/20)
• Free COVID-19 Resources from The Joint Commission (7/30/20)
• AAMI COVID-19 Resources

Medical Journal Updates

• Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA)
• Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
• The Lancet