SARS CoV-2 viral infection leading to COVID-19 has been identified as causing substantial peri-operative complications due to pulmonary and coagulation pathologies. Early studies suggested a postoperative mortality rate of 15–24% [1-3], much higher than the global case fatality rate of 2.2% due to COVID-19 seen more generally [4, 5]. The risk factors and cause of death associated with this excess mortality have, until recently, not been clear; the recent study by the COVIDSurg and GlobalSurg collaboratives found an association between 30-day mortality with pulmonary complications and venous thromboembolism (VTE) [6].

The COVIDSurg and GlobalSurg collaboratives conducted a prospective observational study in October 2020 of patients > 18 y undergoing emergency or elective surgery. The degree of coordination and number of patients enrolled is impressive. In total, 128,013 patients in 1630 hospitals from 115 countries were enrolled. They observed a 50–90% increased risk of VTE in patients with a peri-operative (7 days before to 30 days after surgery) or recent (1–6 weeks before surgery) SARS-CoV-2 infection after multivariable analysis. Concerningly, those patients who did develop VTE had a five-fold greater risk of mortality.

导致 COVID-19 的 SARS CoV-2 病毒感染已被确定为由于肺部和凝血病理学导致严重的围手术期并发症。早期研究表明，术后死亡率为 15-24% [ 1-3 ]，远高于更普遍的 COVID-19 所致全球病例死亡率 2.2% [ 4, 5 ]。直到最近，与这种高死亡率相关的风险因素和死因还不清楚；COVIDSurg 和 GlobalSurg 合作机构最近的研究发现，30 天死亡率与肺部并发症和静脉血栓栓塞 (VTE) 之间存在关联 [ 6 ]。

COVIDSurg 和 GlobalSurg 合作机构于 2020 年 10 月对 18 岁以上接受急诊或择期手术的患者进行了前瞻性观察研究。协调的程度和入组的患者数量令人印象深刻。总共招募了来自 115 个国家的 1630 家医院的 128,013 名患者。他们观察到，在多变量分析后，围手术期（手术前 7 天至手术后 30 天）或近期（手术前 1-6 周）感染 SARS-CoV-2 的患者发生 VTE 的风险增加了 50-90%。令人担忧的是，那些确实发生 VTE 的患者的死亡风险要高出五倍。