ESAIC initiative by occasion of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) outbreak

Marcelo Gama de Abreu* and Paolo Pelosi**, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the ESAIC

*ESAIC Board Member; **Past ESAIC President

Dear colleagues,

Dear care givers working in the operating room, emergency room, intensive care unit and anaesthesia ambulatory services.

We are witnessing the rapid spreading of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (also known as COVID-19, or novel coronavirus) across Europe and the rest of the world. It is the ESAIC’s duty to provide you with information on how to deal with those patients who may be infected, or have even developed clinical symptoms, and must be treated in places where anaesthesiologists and other professionals linked to our specialty are serving.

Therefore, in the upcoming days, the ESAIC will summarize and make available at its website the most important measures that should be taken when dealing with, and treating, those patients. This summary will be updated and extended as necessary, and a discussion forum will be created to promote exchange.

In addition, the ESAIC will organize dedicated sessions during the next Euroanaesthesia Congress in Barcelona, Spain, from 30 May until 01 June, with further information on the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of patients with SARS-CoV-2 who might require care by our specialty. Also, we will discuss with our industry partners strategies to prevent treatment constraints due to potential shortage of devices and drugs within a pandemic.

We look forward to promoting the best possible care to our patients in these difficult times.

Kind regards,