A Case of Gastric Cancer Patient in whom COVID-19 Infection was Clarified after Surgery

Abstract

In our hospital, nosocomial infection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred at the beginning of April 2020. In an early time of the nosocomial infection when the situation of the infection was still unclear, we performed total gastrectomy for a patient with gastric cancer and the patient was found to have COVID-19 infection after the operation. It was likely that the infection source might be another patient who stayed in the same sickroom around the surgery. The patient sometimes developed fever after surgery and pneumonia findings were demonstrated by a chest CT scan, so that the patient was suspected to be infected with COVID-19 virus. However, the patient had not been proved to have COVID-19 infection until the third PCR testing which certified COVID-19 virus positive. The patient's clinical course was favorable after the third PCR testing, possibly because administration of favipiravir might be helpful. The patient was discharged from our hospital on the 24^th postoperative day, or on the 9^th day after the third PCR testing. When we are compelled to perform surgery in hospitals where COVID-19 nosocomial infection has occurred, the patient should be managed in the single sickroom perioperatively.