This article reviews the outcome of surgical procedures for asymptomatic undiagnosed COVID-19 patients.

Article searches focused on all patients who were preoperatively asymptomatic and not tested for COVID-19 and were conducted on April 4, 2020. The authors identified 4 reports comprising of 64 COVID-19 carriers, of whom 51 were diagnosed only in the postoperative period.

Synthesis of these reports suggested a 14/51 (27.5%) postoperative mortality rate and severe mostly pulmonic complications, as well as medical staff exposure and transmission.

The authors conclude that hospitals may consider testing all symptomatic patients before surgical treatment to avoid the high rates of mortality and severe complications observed in these studied.