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BackgroundWe are in the midst of a pandemic caused by the novel SARS-Cov-2 virus. A large percentage of the patients are asymptomatic and hospitals around the world are struggling to restart routine services. We report the results of a universal testing protocol of all patients who underwent orthopaedic surgery in the month of July 2020 in a large orthopaedic speciality hospital in Bangalore, India.MethodsA retrospective study of all patients who underwent orthopaedic surgery in the month of July 2020 at a tertiary care orthopaedic speciality hospital in Bangalore, India. All patients underwent nasopharyngeal swab test before surgery. A questionnaire was used to assess the patient before the RT-PCR nasopharyngeal swab test. Data regarding imaging, investigations and follow up was recorded.ResultsIn the month of July 2020, 168 patients underwent routine nasopharyngeal RT-PCR swab test for COVID-19 prior to planned orthopaedic surgical procedure (Both trauma and elective cases). 16 of the RT-PCR tests were positive. However vascular cases and absolute emergencies were done without a RT - PCR test with PPE and all universal precautions. 11 patients underwent emergency surgery without a RT-PCR test. All 16 cases who were positive were asymptomatic. The asymptomatic positive rate was 9.52%. Of the 11 patients who underwent emergency surgery without a RT-PCR test, only one patient had a positive test post-operatively.ConclusionsRoutine nasopharyngeal RT-PCR testing revealed a high rate of asymptomatic cases. If the RT-PCR test is positive, it is best to defer the case till the test returns negative. All precautions must be taken while performing emergency surgeries. Our algorithm in managing patients has proven to be effective and can be replicated with ease to continue operating and taking care of orthopaedic patients during this pandemic.

Bio fiber based composite materials are gaining interest in the field of certain engineering applications because of their easy processing, low cost, low density and higher strength to weight ratio. In the present study, randomly oriented short Areca Husk and Coir fibers were reinforced with unsaturated polyester resin for the fabrication of composites. The fibers were pretreated with sodium hydroxide to enhance the interphase bonding between the fibers and matrix material. Specimens were prepared and tested for tensile strength, flexural, hardness and impact strength as per respective ASTM standards. The results revealed that individual areca husk fiber reinforced specimens shows improved performance in all properties over coir fiber reinforced specimens. However the hybrid composite specimens test results shows average values as compared to individual fiber reinforced composites.