%0 Journal Article %A Omer Ibrahim Abdalla, Eynas %A Nahid, Seema %A Shastham Valappil, Sikha %A Gudavalli, Srinivas %A Sellami, Soumaya %A Korichi, Noureddine %A Ahmad, Shamsa %A Vicente Canizares Cespedes, Victor %A Gopalakrishnan, Santhosh %T Impact of COVID-19 status on patients receiving neuraxial analgesia during labor: A national retrospective-controlled study %D 2022 %J Qatar Medical Journal, %V 2022 %N 3 %@ 2227-0426 %C 30 %R https://doi.org/10.5339/qmj.2022.30 %K Neuraxial labor analgesia %K Coronaviruses %K Normal delivery %K Pregnancy %K COVID-19 %I Hamad bin Khalifa University Press (HBKU Press), %X Background: Pregnancy affects a woman's susceptibility to and severity of certain infectious diseases. Central neuraxial block for analgesia during labor is superior to nonneuraxial methods in efficacy, safety, and maternal satisfaction. Although Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can be vertically transmitted from mother to fetus, little is known about the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women or about anesthesia management and the risk of adverse effects related to neuraxial techniques in women with untreated COVID-19 during gestation. Aim: This investigation assesses the effects of neuraxial analgesia during labor of COVID-19-positive parturients on their hemodynamic stability. Results: The study was conducted on 64 patients and involved 32 parturients positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a similar number of control “negative” patients. The affected group had an uneventful course during gestation. Seven were positive for ground-glass opacities on chest X-rays, and none underwent computed tomography (CT) scans. Two neonates were PCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2, and all 32 neonates were released from the hospital. No clinical differences were observed between the neonates in the COVID-19 and control groups. Although parturients in both groups were hemodynamically stable, hemodynamic stability was subnormal in the COVID-19 group regarding blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and body temperature. None of the women in either group required a vasopressor or oxygen supplementation during delivery. No other clinical differences were observed between the COVID-19 and control groups. Conclusion: This is the first case-controlled study testing the anesthetic implications of neuraxial labor analgesia in pregnant, COVID-19-positive women. Although management of neuraxial labor analgesia did not differ in pregnant women positive and negative for COVID-19, their hemodynamic characteristics differed significantly. Therefore, care is required to prevent adverse outcomes in pregnant women positive for COVID-19. %U https://www.qscience.com/content/journals/10.5339/qmj.2022.30