Public Health England updates guidance on infection control prevention

25 June 2020

In an updated online document dated 18 June 2020, Public Health England (PHE) has made changes that include an adjustment to its list of aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) that are considered to be potentially infectious for COVID-19. The key change is that surgery that involves high-speed devices is no longer an AGP unless that surgery involves the teeth, respiratory tract or nasal sinuses.

The PHE guidance refers to an evidence review published by NHS Scotland that lists procedures for which there is no evidence of appropriate quality or strength of an increased risk of respiratory infection transmission.

This list includes:

• Abdominal suctioning

• Diathermy

• Irrigation or pulsed lavage during surgery

• Laparoscopy and laparotomy

The change to PHE’s list of AGPs and the evidence review on which it is based now indicate that the substantial majority of orthopaedic, general and gynaecological surgical procedures are not now considered to pose an AGP threat of infection. These changes should support hospitals in choosing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for use during the procedures.

It is worthy of note that respiratory tract suctioning, manual bagging, and both tracheal intubation and extubation, remain AGPs considered to be potentially infectious for COVID-19.

ENDS