Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Change the Anaesthesia Preferences of Pregnant Women for Caesarean Section?

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 disease has become a new cause of anxiety for pregnant women regarding caesarean sections. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the anaesthesia preferences of pregnant women who preferred general anaesthesia in their previous caesarean sections during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A total of 140 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 45, who had undergone elective caesarean section under general anaesthesia, were included in the study. Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale and Beck Anxiety Inventory were applied. The primary cause of anxiety and anaesthesia preference was asked and recorded. RESULTS: It was found that 50.7% (71/140) of the pregnant women who preferred general anaesthesia in their previous caesarean sections preferred regional anaesthesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also found that patients with primary anxiety because of COVID-19 contagion preferred regional anaesthesia more (36/55), and the primary reason for anxiety in these patients was COVID-19 contamination anxiety (36/71). CONCLUSIONS: Informing the patients about the pandemic precautions in the surgery room and in the hospital during the pandemic, as well as routine information in the preoperative anaesthesia appointment, may be effective in the choice of regional anaesthesia, which is considered to have a low risk of transmission.