Around since 1970, monkeypox has rarely been seen outside of Africa. Until this year. More than 18,000 Americans have been infected – about a third of all cases worldwide – and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared monkeypox a public health emergency. Although it is rarely deadly, monkeypox causes severe discomfort, including rash, scabs, fever, and can even lead to blindness, pneumonia and encephalitis. And it can last for two to four weeks. During that time, it can be spread to others through direct contact with the rash, bodily fluids, touching objects and surfaces that have been used by someone with the disease and exposure to large respiratory droplets.
Physician anesthesiologists are among the health care workers at high risk for exposure and contracting the disease because they provide epidurals and anesthesia for women in labor, consult with children and adult patients prior to surgery as well as deliver anesthesia during procedures and provide emergency airway management to those who are seriously injured. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the American Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) support the CDC’s recommendations that health care workers exposed to patients with monkeypox wear gloves, a well-fitting N95 mask, full eye protection and a gown.
ASA and APSF released a statement that includes additional recommendations for protecting physician anesthesiologists and other health care providers. ASA President Randall M. Clark, MD, FASA, is available to discuss these recommendations, including:
- Delaying elective surgery until the rash and scabs have healed
- Reducing the number of staff exposed to patients during urgent surgery
- Isolating patients in a negative pressure room or a single-patient isolation room during procedures that can spread respiratory droplets: intubation, removal of the intubation tube, endoscopic examination of the trachea and passages to the lungs, and nebulizer treatment, which helps patients breathe more easily
- Vaccinating those who have been exposed to monkeypox as soon as possible, within four days at the latest, as the CDC recommends
- Providing paid medical leave for health care workers who have been exposed to or infected by monkeypox
