Awareness of anesthesiology practices in the COVID-19 pandemic and covid-19 normalization period

Aim: The COVID-19 outbreak is defined as an "international public health emergency" by the World Health Organization and the first COVID-19 case in our country has seen on 11 March 2020. In our study, we aimed to assess whether the necessary preparations have been taking by the anaesthetist according to the guidelines published by Turkish Ministry of Health and Turkish Society of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation during the COVİD-19 pandemic and the normalization period by researching their knowledge and awareness levels regarding COVID-19 infection. Material and methods: Our study is a cross-sectional and descriptive study and was sent to 2834 physicians who are members of the Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation (TARD) via the web (SurveyMonkey, San Mateo, CA). The participants directed for survey, which included of 6 chapters and 49 questions, include the socio-demographic characteristics of physicians, COVID-19 symptoms, use of personal protective equipment, preparation of the operation room and anesthesiology practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 normalization period and asked for the evalution of guidelines and algorithms (national and TARD). Results: A total of 332 physicians (research assistants, specialist) participated in the survey. Eighteen of the participants were excluded from the study, because they gave their consent but did not answer the questions. 48.1% of the participants were research assistants and 51.9% were specialist. Participants with 2-5 years of professional experience (30.6%) were majority. The rate of those who gave correct answers to the questions regarding clinical symptoms that should be questioned before the operation was 98.6%. It was observed that the participants had sufficient knowledge about preoperative RT-PCR and Thoracic CT request. It was determined that 89.9% of the participants felt at risk during contact with a COVID-19 suspect or positive patient. The percentage of correct answers to the question of putting on and taking off personal protective equipment was 13.4% and 13.8%, respectively. 81.8% of the participants had sufficient knowledge about the long-term use of N95 / FFP2 masks The rate of those who thought that the information provided by local institute was sufficient compared to the adequacy of the information provided by the Ministry of Health and Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation was lower. It was observed that the total awareness level was at a medium level (64.4%). There was no significant difference between awareness scores according to age, gender, duration of professional experience and academic title. Conclusion: The study shows that anesthesiology and reanimation physicians have moderate knowledge and awareness of the perioperative management of COVID-19. However, it has shown that there is insufficient level of knowledge in practices, including PPE donning-doffing algorithms, equipment disinfection protocol, and general anesthesia procedures (especially during endotracheal intubation) In this period when access to up-to-date information is easier, we think that the knowledge and awareness of anaesthesiology and reanimation physicians who live and manage every moment of the pandemic should be kept at the highest level, the continuity of the trainings in order to transfer the information to the team members and the procedures should be carried out in line with the recommendations.