Patient characteristics, anaesthetic workload and techniques in the UK: an analysis from the 7th National Audit Project (NAP7) activity survey.

Detailed contemporary knowledge of the characteristics of the surgical population, national anaesthetic workload, anaesthetic techniques and behaviours are essential to monitor productivity, inform policy and direct research themes. Every 3-4 years, the Royal College of Anaesthetists, as part of its National Audit Projects (NAP), performs a snapshot activity survey in all UK hospitals delivering anaesthesia, collecting patient-level encounter data from all cases under the care of an anaesthetist. During November 2021, as part of NAP7, anaesthetists recorded details of all cases undertaken over 4 days at their site through an online survey capturing anonymous patient characteristics and anaesthetic details. Of 416 hospital sites invited to participate, 352 (85%) completed the activity survey. From these, 24,177 reports were returned, of which 24,172 (99%) were included in the final dataset. The work patterns by day of the week, time of day and surgical specialty were similar to previous NAP activity surveys. However, in non-obstetric patients, between NAP5 (2013) and NAP7 (2021) activity surveys, the estimated median age of patients increased by 2.3 years from median (IQR) of 50.5 (28.4-69.1) to 52.8 (32.1-69.2) years. The median (IQR) BMI increased from 24.9 (21.5-29.5) to 26.7 (22.3-31.7) kg.m-2 . The proportion of patients who scored as ASA physical status 1 decreased from 37% in NAP5 to 24% in NAP7. The use of total intravenous anaesthesia increased from 8% of general anaesthesia cases to 26% between NAP5 and NAP7. Some changes may reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anaesthetic population, though patients with confirmed COVID-19 accounted for only 149 (1%) cases. These data show a rising burden of age, obesity and comorbidity in patients requiring anaesthesia care, likely to impact UK peri-operative services significantly.

P.8 Anaesthetic outcomes in pregnancy complicated by SARS-CoV2

Introduction: In December 2019 the emergence of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was reported in China. The World Health Organisation formally recognised this outbreak as a pandemic in March 2020. Despite a large number of case reports and series on COVID-19 in pregnancy, there is a paucity of information about anaesthetic outcomes. We aimed to conduct a secondary analysis for anaesthetic outcomes from a large systematic review of COVID-19 in pregnancy.1 Methods: We reviewed all manuscripts in the largest systematic review to date, of COVID-19 in pregnancy.1 Those that did not describe clinical course or anaesthetic outcomes in the mother were excluded. The remaining studies were analysed for details of anaesthesia, including anaesthesia for caesarean section (CS) and labour analgesia. Results: A total of 86 manuscripts were reviewed. Three papers not in the English language were excluded. A further 16 manuscripts in which maternal clinical course or outcomes were not a primary focus of the case report or series were also excluded, leaving 67 manuscripts, and a total of 2260 patients. Of these 67 manuscripts, 15 explicitly discussed the provision of anaesthesia, in a total of 182 patients. Anaesthesia for CS was described in 180 patients;34 (19%) of these patients received general anaesthesia, 144 (80%) received neuraxial anaesthesia and two (1%) patients received general anaesthesia after initial neuraxial anaesthesia. In 30 of the 34 patients who had a CS under general anaesthesia, it is unclear if the general anaesthetic was administered for maternal respiratory distress or as a primary choice for CS. Of the 144 patients who had regional anaesthesia for CS, 130 (90%) had an unspecified neuraxial technique, ten (8%) received a combined spinal-epidural and four (2%) had a single shot spinal. Epidural for labour analgesia was described in two patients. One of these patients delivered spontaneously and one via emergency CS, with mode of anaesthesia for CS not described. There were no reports of anaesthetic complications. Discussion: Information to date suggests that the provision of anaesthesia for labour and CS does not require significant modification. Early concerns that COVID-19 may be commonly associated with thrombocytopenia and prohibit neuraxial anaesthesia appear unfounded.2 However, descriptions of thrombocytopenia in patients with even mild COVID-19 would support routine assessment of platelet counts before neuraxial anaesthesia.3 General anaesthesia appears to have been used more frequently for emergency CS, possibly reflecting care of women with severe respiratory compromise.

Pandemics and maternal health: the indirect effects of COVID-19.

Infectious diseases can directly affect women and men differently. During the COVID-19 pandemic, higher case fatality rates have been observed in men in most countries. There is growing evidence, however, that while organisational changes to healthcare delivery have occurred to protect those vulnerable to the virus (staff and patients), these may lead to indirect, potentially harmful consequences, particularly to vulnerable groups including pregnant women. These encompass reduced access to antenatal and postnatal care, with a lack of in-person clinics impacting the ability to screen for physical, psychological and social issues such as elevated blood pressure, mental health issues and sex-based violence. Indirect consequences also encompass a lack of equity when considering the inclusion of pregnant women in COVID-19 research and their absence from vaccine trials, leading to a lack of safety data for breastfeeding and pregnant women. The risk-benefit analysis of these changes to healthcare delivery remains to be fully evaluated, but the battle against COVID-19 cannot come at the expense of losing existing quality standards in other areas of healthcare, especially for maternal health.

A cross-sectional study of immune seroconversion to SARS-CoV-2 in frontline maternity health professionals.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, is thought to cause a milder illness in pregnancy with a greater proportion of asymptomatic carriers. This has important implications for the risk of patient-to-staff, staff-to-staff and staff-to-patient transmission among health professionals in maternity units. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of previously undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection in health professionals from two tertiary-level maternity units in London, UK, and to determine associations between healthcare workers' characteristics, reported symptoms and serological evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. In total, 200 anaesthetists, midwives and obstetricians, with no previously confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, were tested for immune seroconversion using laboratory IgG assays. Comprehensive symptom and medical histories were also collected. Five out of 40 (12.5%; 95%CI 4.2-26.8%) anaesthetists, 7/52 (13.5%; 95%CI 5.6-25.8%) obstetricians and 17/108 (15.7%; 95%CI 9.5-24.0%) midwives were seropositive, with an overall total of 29/200 (14.5%; 95%CI 9.9-20.1%) of maternity healthcare workers testing positive for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Of those who had seroconverted, 10/29 (35.5%) were completely asymptomatic. Fever or cough were only present in 6/29 (21%) and 10/29 (35%) respectively. Anosmia was the most common symptom occurring in 15/29 (52%) seropositive participants and was the only symptom that was predictive of positive seroconversion (OR 18; 95%CI 6-55). Of those who were seropositive, 59% had not self-isolated at any point and continued to provide patient care in the hospital setting. This is the largest study of baseline immune seroconversion in maternity healthcare workers conducted to date and reveals that one out of six were seropositive, of whom one out of three were asymptomatic. This has significant implications for the risk of occupational transmission of SARS-CoV-2 for both staff and patients in maternity units. Regular testing of staff, including asymptomatic staff should be considered to reduce transmission risk.

Novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Practice recommendations for obstetric anaesthesia: what we have learned thus far.

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus causing a global pandemic of a severe respiratory illness known as COVID-19. To date, globally, over 30,000 people have died from this emerging disease. As clinicians and healthcare systems around the world are rapidly adapting to manage patients with COVID-19, limited data are emerging from different patient populations to support best-practice and improve outcomes. In this review, we present a summary of emerging data in the obstetric population and offer obstetric and anaesthetic clinicians around the world a set of evidence-driven, practice-based recommendations for the anaesthetic management of pregnant women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.