International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | December 2021 | Vol 9 | Issue 12 Page 3495 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Singh R et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2021 Dec;9(12):3495-3500 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article Anaesthetic management in COVID-19 parturients scheduled for caesarean delivery - a comparison with non-COVID-19 parturients Ranju Singh 1 , Pooja Singh 1 *, Eashwar Neelakandan 1 , Maitree Pandey 1 , Manju Puri 2 , Sushma Nangia 3 INTRODUCTION Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused due to infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first reported from Wuhan in China and was subsequently declared as a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO). 1 The SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the same family as the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Prior experience with these two viruses has shown that they may be associated with preterm delivery and still births in pregnant women. 2 Increased respiratory disorders and maternal mortality has also been associated with these infections. This predisposition to respiratory complications may be explained by physiological changes in pregnancy such as increased oxygen consumption, increased minute 1 Department of Anaesthesiology, 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 3 Department of Neonatology, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Shrimati Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, New Delhi, India Received: 16 October 2021 Revised: 09 November 2021 Accepted: 11 November 2021 *Correspondence: Dr. Pooja Singh, E-mail: dr.pooja260887@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Data regarding outcomes after anaesthesia in COVID-19 parturients is scanty. There is hardly any information about the length of hospital stay in COVID-19 parturients who undergo caesarean delivery (CD) as compared to non-COVID-19 parturients. Methods: An observational study of COVID-19 parturients undergoing CD was conducted. Age and CD indication matched non COVID-19 parturients were taken as controls. The length of hospital stay along with maternal and neonatal outcomes were studied. Results: A total of 45 COVID-19 parturients and an equal number of non-COVID-19 parturients were studied. The length of hospital stay was significantly longer in COVID-19 parturients as compared to non-COVID-19 parturients (4.3±1.6 days versus 3.3±0.6 days, p=0.02). One COVID-19 parturient developed severe disease and expired. Apart from this case, the maternal and neonatal outcomes were comparable between the two groups. Mild thrombocytopenia was seen in COVID-19 parturients. One neonate had a positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on first day of life. Conclusions: COVID-19 parturients who undergo CD have a longer length of hospital stay than non-COVID-19 parturients. Severe disease is likely to be associated with longer length of hospital stay. Intraoperative hypotension, maternal and neonatal outcome is not significantly different between COVID-19 and non COVID-19 although mild thrombocytopenia is seen in COVID-19 parturients. While vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 may be possible, more data is needed regarding vertical transmission is needed. Keywords: Caesarean section, COVID-19, Intraoperative hypotension, Length of stay, Spinal anaesthesia, Vertical transmission DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20214699