Effect of COVID-19 on anesthesia preferences in cesarean section: An observational study

INTRODUCTION: During the pandemic, everyone including healthcare professionals were under stress. Regional blocks in the cesarean section were considered safer during this period. We aimed to evaluate the effect of this stress on the patient’s choice of anesthesia.
METHODS: Pregnant women were surveyed preoperatively during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey investigated the demographic data, pregnancy information, previous delivery type, anesthesia experiences, known panic attack/anxiety diagnosis, and anesthesia preferences before and after COVID-19 and factors affecting this decision.
RESULTS: A total of 108 patients, including elective (n=63) and urgent (n=45), were included in this study. The anesthesia techniques applied to the patients were spinal anesthesia (n=98), epidural anesthesia (n=1), and general anesthesia (n=9). When enquired on the change in their preferences due to COVID-19, only 16.6% (n=18) stated that the patients were affected. In addition, 94.4% of the patients (n=17) underwent regional anesthesia and 5.5% (n=1) underwent general anesthesia owing to anticoagulant use. Furthermore, 58.3% of the patients (n=63) were subjected to their preferred anesthesia technique, whereas 36.1% (n=39) underwent regional anesthesia based on the physicians’ recommendations for maternal/fetal health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We investigated the effect of the anxiety associated with COVID-19 on the anesthesia preferences of pregnant women and found that only a small percentage of patients had a change in their preferences due to COVID-19.