Introduction:

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19, a disease produced by a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), as a pandemic. Cuba, despite all the regulations established by health and state authorities since the beginning of the pandemic, begins the year 2021 with more than 29.000 sick people and about 200 deaths.

Objective:

To describe the measures that make up the performance protocol of the surgical unit of the National Institute of Nephrology in the confrontation of COVID-19.

Methods:

A review of the current literature was carried out. The sources of information used were Google Scholar, Medline, Embase, PubMed, Hinari, Clinical Key, Elsevier, Research-Gate, Web of Science, the WHO’s website and the official government site of the Ministry of Public Health in Cuba.

Development:

In the current context, the surgical unit of the National Institute of Nephrology performs general and urological, urgent and emergent surgeries, as well as elective surgeries related to vascular access for hemodialysis. Internationally recommended hygienic-epidemiological measures are established for surgical units during the pandemic, which are described in this article.

Conclusions:

The existence of a performance protocol in the surgical unit for the confrontation of COVID- 19 is an indispensable tool for creating a preventive scenario against the disease. All workers should be trained and have personal protective equipment at their disposal.

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