Ambulatory surgery centers performed essential procedures in the early months of the pandemic, with patients seeing "virtually no heightened risk" of contracting COVID-19, according to an Oct. 8 press release from the ASC Quality Collaboration.
A survey looked at about 700 ASCs across eight states, including three that were experiencing high positivity rates of COVID-19, the release said. Of the 84,446 patients included in the survey, 16 had tested positive for COVID-19 within two weeks of their surgery.
The survey didn't specify when or how those patients were infected. Of those 16 patients, two were hospitalized for respiratory issues.
"This survey data confirms that ASCs, which had numerous safety protocols in place prior to the pandemic to prevent the spread of infections, can continue to perform essential surgeries without putting patients at greater risk of contracting COVID-19," Ann Shimek, MSN, RN, executive director of the ASC Quality Collaboration, said in a statement.
Read the full press release here.
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