Background and Aims: India is one of the five worst hit countries in the world due to COVID-19, by the fourth week of June 2020 The impact of COVID-19 on the health practices is well-documented but there are no studies assessing its impact on anesthesiologists in India This study aims at assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the practices followed, the preparedness, and mindset of anesthesiologists in India Material and Methods: Using Google forms, a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was conducted between the 5thand 22ndof May, 2020, among trainees and practicing anesthesiologists, in India The anesthesiologists were invited to participate, using their e-mail addresses and through the social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp The responses that were generated, were analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM, Armonk, NY) Results: Of the 707 anesthesiologists who participated, 68 3% had already worked in a COVID-19 specialty unit Only 41 7% of the anesthesiologists felt confident that they had sufficient knowledge to deal with COVID-19 infected patients Fear of catching the infection and infecting loved ones were important causes of anxiety, which was seen in 95% of the participants Majority of the participants, (64 5%) did not think that elective surgical procedures could be restarted at this point Conclusion: COVID-19 has had grave impact on anesthesiologists, on the professional and personal front, and will possibly cause near-permanent changes in the work culture Restarting elective surgical procedures, will require meticulous planning In spite of their self-perceived under-preparedness to combat COVID-19, an overwhelming majority of participating anesthesiologists were prepared to contribute to the management of COVID-19 © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications All rights reserved
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on anesthesiologists in India: A cross-sectional online survey of the practices, preparedness, and mind-set