Coronavirus is a severe infectious disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has led to increased mortality worldwide. Multiple reports have been published citing that gastrointestinal symptoms are common in patients with COVID-19 infection. It has also been found that the ACE2 receptor of SARS-CoV-2 is expressed more in the pancreas than the lungs. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the extent and details of pancreatic injury caused by COVID-19. Lack of awareness regarding the COVID-19 status of patients presenting with pancreatitis may expose healthcare workers to SARS-CoV-2 while performing interventions to manage complications of pancreatitis such as necrosis. We report a case of COVID-19-induced acute necrotising pancreatitis in the absence of any known risk factors.

To support the global restart of elective surgery, data from an international prospective cohort study of 8492 patients (69 countries) was analysed using artificial intelligence (machine learning techniques) to develop a predictive score for mortality in surgical patients with SARS-CoV-2. We found that patient rather than operation factors were the best predictors and used these to create the COVIDsurg Mortality Score (https://covidsurgrisk.app). Our data demonstrates that it is safe to restart a wide range of surgical services for selected patients.

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic and the eventual national lockdown in the UK brought a halt to the face-to-face outpatient appointments at most NHS hospitals. Owing to this, clinicians have had to switch to other means of consultation, to maintain continuity of care. This survey was done to see how surgeons perceive telemedicine as part of their surgical consultations. Methods A questionnaire was piloted and re-designed following which an improved questionnaire was circulated among all users of telemedicine in surgical specialties through social media platforms. The results were analysed using smart survey software. Results Seventy per cent of the respondents had never used telemedicine before the COVID-19 pandemic. Three-quarters of the respondents found difficulty in assessing patients preoperatively. A significant proportion were worried about confidentiality and data security. The other concerns expressed were difficulty in building a rapport and the absence of a legal framework to support the surgeons in the transition. Despite some concerns, most of them were in favour of using telemedicine in the future with some improvements. Conclusion As the pandemic prevented people from attending face-to-face appointments, remote consultations were stepped up to help overcome the difficulties. Screening services were suspended and treatment accumulated. Telemedicine will be a corner-stone service as healthcare systems attempt to tackle this backlog. The already existing software need to be further explored. Future studies must address the use of telemedicine in preoperative consultations. Regulatory bodies must ensure that there is adequate legal framework in place so that clinicians continue to embrace telemedicine.