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Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate how prevalent asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 virus infection (COVID-19) is among patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery at two tertiary referral hospitals. Material(s) and Method(s): This retrospective study included patients without COVID-19 symptoms who underwent preoperative screening using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) before ophthalmic surgery at the Kocaeli University and Gaziantep University departments of ophthalmology [between September 1, 2020, and December 15, 2020 (group 1);between March 1, 2021, and May 30, 2021 (group 2)]. Patients scheduled for surgery and followed up in the retina, glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, cataract and refractive surgery, and cornea departments were examined. Result(s): RT-PCR was positive for SARS-CoV-2 in 12 (1.4%) of 840 patients in group 1 and 7 (1.1%) out of 600 patients in group 2. None of the patients were symptomatic of COVID-19. The majority of the patients were scheduled for retina or cataract and refractive surgery in both groups (group 1;retina: 29.2%, cataract and refractive: 57.0%, group-2;retina: 31.3%, cataract and refractive: 54.5%). SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing was positive for seven patients in group 1 (7/245, 2.9%) and five patients in group 2 (5/188, 2.6%) who were scheduled for retinal surgery. Conclusion(s): The necessity, availability, and practicality of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing prior to ophthalmic surgeries varies depending on the protocols of each institution. COVID-19 RT-PCR testing is suggested especially before vitreoretinal surgeries and general anesthesia procedures, because of the difficulty in managing postoperative complications.Copyright © 2023 Gazi Eye Foundation. All rights reserved.
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The consultant in intensive care and anaesthesia and UK Sepsis Trust founder talks about life after intensive care for covid-19 patients
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Objectives: We present a case report of medical intensivist driven ECMO program using ECMO as a pre-procedural tool to maintain oxygenation in a patient with critical tracheal stenosis during tracheostomy placement. Method(s): VV ECMO is primarily used to support patients when mechanical ventilation is unable to provide adequate gas exchange. Alternatively, it has been used pre-procedurally when intubation is required in anticipation of a difficult airway. Described here is the first intensivist preformed awake VV ECMO cannulation to facilitate tracheostomy in a patient with severe tracheal stenosis. Result(s): The patient is a 41-year-old female with the relevant background of COVID19 pneumonia status post tracheostomy and subsequently decannulated after prolonged intubation and ICU stay. As a result, the patient developed symptomatic tracheal stenosis and presented two years after her ICU stay for scheduled bronchoscopy and balloon dilation. However, the patient developed worsening stridor and shortness of breath requiring heliox and BPAP. After multidisciplinary discussion between the critical care team ENT teams, the decision was made to cannulate for VV ECMO as a pre-procedural maneuver to allow for oxygenation during open tracheostomy in the OR. Dexmedetomidine and local anesthesia were used for the procedure with the patient sitting at 30 degrees on non-invasive ventilation and heliox. The patient was cannulated with a 21F right internal jugular return cannula and 25F right common femoral drainage cannula by medical intensivists in the intensive care unit using ultrasound guidance. The patient went for operative tracheostomy the next day and was subsequently decannulated from ECMO the following day without complication. She was discharged home on trach collar. Conclusion(s): Intensivist performed ECMO cannulation has been shown to be safe and effective. We anticipate the indications and use will continue to expand. This case is an example that intensivist driven preprocedural ECMO is a viable extension of that practice.
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With the adjustment of China's epidemic prevention and control guidelines regarding coronavirus disease of 2019(COVID-19), the preoperative evaluation and timing of surgery for patients after COVID-19 infection have become the focus of attention for both healthcare workers and patients. Based on the latest study and related clinical experience, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) has therefore compiled this multidisciplinary, evidence-based recommendation for concise, individualized, and practical preoperative evaluation and timing of surgery for patients after COVID-19 infection. The recommendations emphasize patients' COVID-19 infection history, the severity of symptoms, and medical/physiologic recovery status during preoperative evaluation. The determination of appropriate length of time between recovery from COVID-19 and surgery/procedure should take into account of patients' underlying health conditions, the severity of the COVID-19 infection course, and the types of surgery and anesthesia scheduled, to minimize postoperative complications. The recommendations are intended to aid healthcare workers in evaluating these patients, scheduling them for the optimal timing of surgery, and optimizing perioperative management and postoperative recovery.Copyright © 2023, Peking Union Medical College Hospital. All rights reserved.
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Aim: To determine the intraoperative Ramsay sedation score after dexmedetomidine infusion in patients undergoing perineal surgery. Study design: Descriptive study. Place and duration of study: Department of Anaesthesia, JPMC, Karachi from 13th February 2021 to 13th August 2021. Methodology: One hundred and seventy four patients who met the diagnostic criteria were enrolled. Result(s): The mean age was 46.51 years with the standard deviation of +/-10.87. 66 (37.9%) were male and 108 (62.1%) were female. Whereas, mean duration of surgery, Ramsay sedation score at 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, height, weight and BMI in our study was 1.41+/-0.40 hours, 1.72+/-0.44, 3.51+/-0.60, 4.57+/-0.62, 165.62+/-8.23 cm, 68.34+/-8.23 kg and 24.85+/-3.34 kg/m2 respectively. Conclusion(s): Intraoperative dexmedetomidine proved beneficial in perineal surgeries and could be served as a potent sedative drug.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
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COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021 affected millions of people including children. Though uncommon, there are few reports of COVID in neonates also. COVID is primarily managed by pediatricians;however, they are involved when providing anesthesia to these neonates for surgery. The role of anesthetists, besides during surgery, has proven to be vital in COVID pandemic for their expertise in airway and ventilatory management, also putting them to the highest risk of exposure. Various testing methods are available, and TrueNAT and RTPCR have emerged as most reliable. Most neonates remain asymptomatic or have mild symptoms;however, RTPCR testing should be done in all at least 72 h of preoperative. Utmost care should be taken during the preoperative evaluation, and in the perioperative period, goal is to prevent transmission of COVID to noninfected HCW involved in the perioperative period, to other newborns and neonates, and also to avoid increasing the severity of the diseases in the positive neonates, while keeping in mind the vulnerability of these babies in combination with their surgical disease and the changing neonatal physiology. COVID care protocols should be followed at all times. Anesthetic considerations remain the same as described in other chapters in the book, in newborns and neonates, both term and preterm. All OT personnel need to don the PPE, which can be problematic especially for the anesthetist, as it restricts the normal unhindered movements, use of stethoscope for chest auscultation for heart rate, respiration, and ETT positioning. Hence, one needs to be very meticulous in IV line and ET placement and their securing to prevent accidental dislodging during positioning and under the drapes. All disposable and non-disposable equipment used for the covid positive baby, should be adequately treated or discarded, as the case may be, after each surgery. Only emergency surgery should be undertaken in COVID-positive neonates to prevent high postoperative morbidity and mortality. There is not much data available in neonates, and most guidelines have been introduced for children and adolescents. Neonatal care has emerged from the experience of the anesthesiologist and from extrapolation of the available pediatric guidelines. Here, we will be discussing COVID in neonates and anesthetic management in COVID-positive neonates undergoing surgery. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
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Presentation of a thymoma during pregnancy means that safe delivery becomes more challenging. We present a 33-year-old pregnant woman who was diagnosed with a large thymoma causing marked compression of the tracheobronchial tree and right atrium. After various multidisciplinary meetings she presented for elective caesarean section delivery at 31 weeks of gestation. A combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia was performed, along with colloid pre-and co-loading, and vasopressor support. The delivery was uneventful. The possibility of catastrophic complications was foreseen. Therefore, all requirements for the possibility of airway or haemodynamic collapse were planned carefully, including the possibility of emergent cardiopulmonary bypass.Copyright © 2023, College of Anaesthesiologists of Sri Lanka. All rights reserved.
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The most common causes of acute hepatitis in children are hepatitis A and autoimmune hepatitis. Hepatitis in the course of Wilson's disease is sporadically registered in adolescents. An increase of activity of aminotransferases both in the course of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and in the course of COVID-19 has been observed. Hepatitis is common in children with MIS-C and is associated with a more severe presentation and persistent elevation of liver function tests. To date, no cases of acute hepatitis in children due to COVID-19 have been reported. We present 2 cases of acute hepatitis in children where the only cause seems to be a previous asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.Copyright © 2023 Termedia Publishing House Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Telemedicine is a modality which utilizes technology to provide and support health care across large distances. It has redefined the practices of medicine in many specialties and continues to be a boon for clinicians on many frontiers. Its role in the branch of anesthesia remains largely unexplored but has shown to be beneficial in all the three phases: pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative. Now time has come that anesthesiologists across the globe reassess their strategies and utilize the telemedicine facilities in the field of anesthesia.Copyright © 2021 EDP Sciences. All rights reserved.
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BackgroundFor patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, the Covid-19 pandemic carried some implications in addition to those faced by the general population. In particular, the question whether these patients are at increased risk of contracting Covid-19 or have an unfavourable disease course has been and is a matter of concern.In autumn 2020, the population of the Vinschgau valley in South Tyrol, northern Italy was still largely spared from infection with SARS-CoV-2. Accordingly, incidence of the disease in the upcoming winter was anticipated to be high.ObjectivesThis prospective observational study aimed at characterizing Covid-19 infections in a population of patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) residing in the Vinschgau valley. The study was conceived as companion project to an analogously designed prospective cohort study in the general population of the Vinschgau valley, the CHRIS Covid-19 study.MethodsBetween september and december 2020, IA patients (i.e. previously diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis [RA], psoriatic arthritis [PsA] or peripheral spondyloarthritis [SpA]) residing in the Vinschgau valley (n=394 based on national healthcare system database) were contacted. Those who consented to participate in the study underwent a clinical baseline visit including TJC, SJC, VAS and assessment of RAID, PsAID9 or BASDAI (range 0-10, respectively). In addition, a Covid-19 screening questionnaire was administered. Then, active and/or past infection with SARS-CoV-2 were determined by nasopharyneal swab (PCR) and serum antibody test. In positively tested subjects, Covid-19 disease severity was graded according to WHO criteria (range 0-8, with 0 = no evidence of infection and 8 = death). Patients were followed-up with regular telephone interviews including Covid-19 screening questionnaire and RAID/PsAID/BASDAI for up to 12 months.Results111 patients (72 RA, 29 PsA, 10 SpA) were enrolled (see Table 1 for demographics and comorbidities).A total number of 19 PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in 17 patients (10 RA, 7 PsA) were observed. Mean ± standard deviation 7-day incidence (incident cases/study population) was 0.003 ± 0.007.Fatigue, fever, anosmia and sore throat (present in 57.9%, 47.4%, 42.1% and 36.8% of infections, respectively) were the most frequent symptoms. Median (min-max) disease severity was 2 [1-4]. Two infections led to hospitalization, in one case oxygen supply was necessary. Four infections were asymptomatic (Figure 1).One patient died during follow-up due to pre-existing non-small cell lung cancer.Median absolute difference between post- and pre-infection disease activity was 0.4 and -0.8 for RAID and PsAID, respectively (both markedly below the minimal clinically important difference of 3 and 3.6 points, respectively).ConclusionIncidence of Covid-19 in the analysed cohort of patients with IA was low. Symptoms and comorbidities of SARS-CoV-2-positive IA patients reflected those known from the general population. Covid-19 seemed to have no relevant impact on IA disease activity. Comparison of these preliminary data with those of the general population is planned.Figure 1.Spectrum of clinical symptoms reported by study patients during infection with SARS-CoV-2[Figure omitted. See PDF]Table 1.Demographic data and selected comorbidities of study patients. Age and body mass index (BMI) are given in means ± standard deviation, female sex and comorbidities are given in n (% of column totals).TotalSARS-CoV-2 positiveHospitalized111172Age at inclusion (years)59.7 ± 9.462.5 ± 10.076.3 ± 9.0BMI at inclusion (kg/m2)27.9 ± 17.126.1 ± 3.330.5 ± 1.6Female sex76 (68.5)10 (58.8)1 (50)Active smokers22 (19.8)1 (5.9)0 (0)Arterial hypertension44 (39.6)8 (47.1)2 (50)Diabetes mellitus4 (3.6)1 (5.9)1 (50)Hyperlipidemia27 (24.3)2 (11.8)1 (50)Cardiac arrhythmias12 (10.8)2 (11.8)1 (50)History of cancer5 (4.5)1 (5.9)0 (0)Chronic bronchitis4 (3.6)1 (5.9)0 (0)Asthma3 (2.7%)0 (0)0 (0)Hospitalized in previous 12 months21 (18.9)3 (17.6)0 (0)Surgery with general anaesthesia in previous 12 months11 (9.9)2 (11.8)0 (0)Ack owledgementsThe authors thank Elena Cannavò and the CHRIS study team, whose support was of invaluable importance for the conduction of the study.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.
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Introduction: Effective spinal anaesthesia for caesarean delivery (CD) is assumed to cause bilateral sympathetic blockade with increased feet skin temperature due to vasodilatation [1]. There has been no published study of peripheral skin temperature measurements during spinal anaesthesia for CD. Our study investigated foot skin temperature changes as spinal anaesthesia was established. Method(s): A single centre, prospective observational study with ethics committee approval (IRAS No. 263967). With informed consent, 60 healthy parturients, 37-42 weeks' gestation with singleton pregnancy scheduled for category 4 CD with spinal anaesthesia were recruited. Standard spinal anaesthesia used 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and diamorphine with IV Phenylephrine and fluids. Skin temperature was measured on the dorsum of both feet with Covidien Mon-a-Therm© skin thermistor sensors prior to intrathecal injection and every minute after until completion of surgery. Theatre room temperature and ambient temperature under surgical drapes were recorded. Two controls were recruited. Result(s): All participants had successful spinal anaesthesia. The Figure shows mean (95% CI) skin temperature changes of both feet of participants during spinal anaesthesia and for controls. The maximum rate of skin temperature increase occurred 5-12 minutes after spinal injection with temperature change plateauing after 30 mins. The mean temperature range was 5.54degreeC (min = 29.7degreeC;max = 35.2degreeC). Discussion(s): This study characterises for the first time the peripheral temperature changes in the feet that occur with sympathetic block after spinal anaesthesia in parturients. Increased bilateral foot skin temperatures occur within 10 minutes of spinal injection. This may be useful for determining successful spinal anaesthesia for CD in addition to other assessments [2]. The insights may be useful for assessing epidural analgesia. The study was supported by an OAA research grant. Data collected by ROAR group.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
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The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge for health practitioners, where there are many suspected and confirmed patients with COVID-19, including obstetric patients. Perioperative treatment of COVID-19 patients must be under applicable standards, for both patients and the medical personnel. Personal protective equipment is essential for health workers who treat patients with COVID-19 to prevent the transmission of the virus. The method of delivery ideally should be adapted to the clinical condition of the patient. At the same time, the management of anesthesia for patients with cesarean sections should also be adjusted to the patient's clinical condition by taking into consideration the availability of facilities and infrastructure that we have. Through this report, we want to show how we manage COVID-19 in obstetric cases using the available resources in a third-world country.Copyright © 2021 Bali Journal of Anesthesiology. All rights reserved.
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According to literature reports, the injury rate of the athletes in Olympic Winter Games recent years was as high as 10%-14%. Combined with the background of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the medical insurance work of the 24th Olympic Winter Games held in Beijing had put forward more complicated requirements and more severe challenges. In order to better optimize anesthesia management, this article summarized the perioperative treatment of athletes in Olympic Winter Games, the safety protection strategy of medical staff under general anesthesia, and the potential impact of peri-operative drugs on athletes. Anesthesiologists, as the core members of the rescue team, should be familiar with the particularity of operative anesthesia of athletes, sum up relevant experience to ensure the safety of perioperative patients. So all kinds of technical measures should be taken in the process of operation to minimize the indoor pollution caused by the patient's cough. For example, all the patients should wear N95 masks from the ward to the operating room, and after the operation, wear the N95 masks back to the ward. Although the International Olympic Committee had banned more than 200 drugs for participants and athletes who had to strictly follow International Olympic Committee requirements during anesthesia, the athletes were no longer participating in this Olympic Winter Games, so opioids (sufentanil and remifentanil) and glucocorticoid (dexamethasone) could be used according to the actual needs of surgery and anesthesia. Five athletes in Yanqing competition area underwent surgical anesthesia in Peking University Third Hospital Yanqing Hospital. All the five patients received general anesthesia, of whom four underwent orthopaedic surgery and one underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. General anesthesia with laryngeal mask airway was the first choice in the five patients. And the pain after orthopaedic surgery was severe and nerve block technique could effectively relieve the pain after surgery. Three patients received ultrasound-guided nerve block analgesia, the postoperative analgesia lasted 36 h. After the operation, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) was infused intravenously in the ward and all the patients recovered uneventfully. As the core member of the trauma rescue team, anesthesiologists should be familiar with the particularity of the athletes' surgical anesthesia, do a good job in medical security, and summarize relevant experience to ensure the life safety of the perioperative patients.
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Everybody in the world including the health care sector has witnessed the devastating effects of COVID- 19 infection. It is an enigma to say whether COVID -19 has gone for good or not, but has definitely presented as a challenge in itself for dental professionals. Complications have escalated especially at the end of the 2nd wave, probably due to various immunosuppressant drugs that have been used for it's aggressive treatment. These cases highlights osteomyelitis of maxilla and surrounding structures in patients due raised levels of blood sugar and also due to steroidal therapy. Recent reports that have been published, show a rate of approximately 80.76% of such cases in maxilla, out of which 61.53% patients were found to be diabetic before diagnosis. These cases presents post COVID-19 osteomyelitis which is believed to be triggered by highly raised blood sugar levels in a patient who was not a known case of diabetes mellitus.
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ContextOn the 11th March 2020, the WHO declared SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) outbreak a global pandemic. Healthcare facilities in the UK faced an unprecedented challenge of managing the outbreak, whilst maintaining basic healthcare services such as cancer and trauma. The NHS and independent sector partnership allowed a safe work stream, a relationship that continues now to support the elective recovery coming out of the pandemic.Issue/ChallengeReorganisation of healthcare provision led to the transformation of Practice Plus Group (PPG) hospital, Ilford to a green site for Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS University Trust (BHRUT) trauma service from 30/03/2020 to 10/06/2020. PPG Hospital had to rise to the challenge mobilising quickly from an elective service to a trauma unit serving a local population of over 1 million. The hospital transformed over one weekend, mobilising staff and equipment to deliver a trauma service. Their service went on to exemplify gold standard treatment of the very sick. The unit responded, adapted and developed outpatient clinics, plaster room, trauma ward and theatres to manage COVID-negative trauma cases that BHRUT received.Assessment of issue and analysis of its causesClinical staff had to upskill to take on the very sick (ASA 4) who may require end organ support, to carry out trauma surgery and procedures that were never performed before at the unit. Surgeons and surgical trainees from the trust became part of the multidisciplinary collaboration whilst the senior leaders developed a strong relationship to ensure good governance throughout the period. All of PPG staff had to get involved in ward care. Staff were trained with regards to personal protective equipment (PPE), Aerosol generating procedures (AGPs), pressure area care and applying traction to realign bones as some of the examples. The staff involved came from the following groups: theatre staff, outpatient staff, the anaesthetic consultants, ward staff, endoscopy, pharmacy, physio, housekeeping, infection control and portering.ImpactConsultant anaesthetists had a steep learning curve to both update their trauma knowledge and sharpen their skills. The guidelines of fracture hips were reviewed. The weekly teaching meetings’ topics were all about anaesthesia for emergency surgery, trauma and COVID. Anaesthetic work rota modified to provide a suitable recovery time following long days in theatres. The necessity of rest periods improves immunity.InterventionThere were some logistic hurdles, including the lack of availability of a suitable meeting facility that can accommodate a large number of attendees. There was a need to have a combined meeting with the BHRUT team in the red zone. On the first day, the meeting was carried out on the ‘ZOOM’ platform on smart phones. Within a couple of days. The trauma meeting was held in the capacious theatre reception, using a wall-mounted big screen for audio-visual display. This allowed better communication with all clinical teams including orthopaedic surgery, anaesthesia, nursing and coordinators.Involvement of stakeholders, such as patients, carers or family members:The PPG team implemented the pillars of clinical governance to improve the quality of care. The virtual monthly morbidity meeting included clinicians from all disciplines. A brief update of previous monthly data was reviewed. An initial internal audit showed that the average anaesthetic start time was 09:39. 19 lists (out of 23, 83%) started even after 09:15. The identified causes for this delay included late sending time, and the patient not being ready at the ward due to longer pre-operative checks and staff shortage. A ‘Golden Patient' was not always identified. A collaborative multi-disciplinary approach aimed to streamline the admission processes to ensure availability of both the surgical team and the patient to ensure a prompt theatre start. A repeat audit confirmed that the average anaesthetic start time has become 09:03. Only four out of 24 lists had an anaesthetic start time of 09:15 or later (17%). Th t is an Improvement of 69%.Key MessagesAs COVID created so much pressure on BHRUT, we quickly formed a positive can do working relationship both clinically and managerially to set up the Trauma service in just a few days. The 30 day mortality rate of patients with fracture neck of femur was less than the national average. This positive approach has enabled us to continue working together to help ease pressure off the lengthy patient waiting lists in Orthopaedics and General Surgery.Lessons learntPPG was proud to receive many compliments from patients and BHR staff. A patient wrote ‘I am so humbled and impressed by the amazing team-work and skill of the staff here that I want to congratulate you on what is an outstanding success amongst all the many stories coming out of the corona pandemic. Watching the way in which staff from so many different departments and skills bases are coming to this ward and learning nursing techniques with humility and patience as well as bonding in an upbeat, joyful team is something I will always remember. A surgical trainee mentioned The Independent Sector Treatment Centre (ISTC) team has been absolutely excellent so far. They have made us feel welcome and have worked hard to optimize the service'. This COVID cooperation paved the way for the ongoing cooperation between BHR and PPG, Ilford.Measurement of improvementThe outcome data shows that the service was able to successfully manage fractured neck of femur with better outcomes against national KPI. During the period from 30/03/20 to 10/06/2020, 85 patients had surgery for an emergency fracture neck of femur (Table 1). At PPG, the 30 days mortality rate was 3.5%. The national mortality rate for patients with fracture neck of Femur was 6.1%.75 patients with fracture neck of femur had surgical fixation within 36 hours.Strategy for improvementCollaborative cooperation between NHS and PPG led to set up of new pathways, governance and processes that enable patients to be transferred directly to us as well as creating capacity for BHRUT surgeons to operate in our hospital, supported by our theatre and ward teams.
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Introduction: Peripartum women are at increased risk for severe illness with coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection. Recent medical literature has drawn attention to the possible influence of COVID-19 on the course of pregnancies and its long-term effects.1-5 Objective: This case series aimed to observe the clinical course of peripartum women with confirmed Covid-19 admitted to a critical care unit in the North-west of England. Method(s): Since the start of the pandemic, all pregnant women with Covid-19 infection admitted to the critical care unit were monitored and followed up. Demographic profile, medical co-morbidities, treatment received, respiratory support and vaccination status were noted. Result(s): From March 2020 until February 2022, 8 women in our practice were shifted to the critical care unit post-partum in view of worsening work of breathing & increasing oxygen requirement after initial management in the delivery suite. All admissions were during the 3rd wave of the pandemic in the UK, between June to October 2021. 5 patients underwent Caesarean section under spinal anesthesia & 3 were shifted post normal vaginal delivery. Mean age in the study population was 33.25 years (SD +/- 3.99) and mean length of stay in the ICU was 6.62 days (SD +/- 3.99). Only one woman required intubation & mechanical ventilation for 10 days and the rest were managed on High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) hood and self-proning manoeuvres. 50% of the patients received Tocilizumab. All women were discharged home and there were no maternal deaths. Pre- admission none of the women were vaccinated, but on follow up 5 out of the 8 had completed their vaccination. All women were emotionally distraught due to being isolated from their family and new born. When reviewed at 12 weeks, one patient experienced post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and one had features of long Covid syndrome. On follow up, all new born babies were doing well. Conclusion(s): From the limited amount of data available, psychological stress was common to all patients. Being isolated from their new-born and family was the most difficult emotional aspect for the mothers in addition to finding it difficult to breathe and uncertainty about the future. Most mothers and new-born babies were discharged from the hospital without any serious complications. However, further observation and long term follow up is imperative. Use of guidelines in peripartum patients will aid in appropriate escalation of care. Key words: COVID-19, Pregnancy, Peri-partum, Long Covid syndrome.
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Introduction: Critically-ill obstetric patients admitted to general intensive care units (ICU) are a rare and unique population for whom excellent care is essential to prevent devastating physical and psychological morbidity. Admissions are often unanticipated and can present challenges to obstetric and intensive care MDTs. 2018 Enhanced Maternal Care (EMC) Guidelines provide standards for caring for these women, and the 2022 Ockenden review exposed the association of peripartum ICU admission with undertreated psychological trauma and a desire for individualised debriefing [1,2]. We audited the care of obstetric admissions to general ICUs in our quaternary centre. We sought evidence of psychological morbidity to improve follow-up pathways in line with 2022 Ockenden actions. Method(s): Retrospective online case note review of maternity admissions to general ICUs between 1/1/2021-1/1/2022 compared to EMC audit standards. Exclusion criteria: <22/40 gestation, >6/52 postpartum and admissions to our level 2 labour ward high dependency unit. Result(s): 25 patients were admitted to general ICUs over 12 months. Median age was 35-39 years, mean parity was 1. The commonest indication was obstetric haemorrhage (n = 10). 15 of 25 patients required level 3 care, median length of stay was 1.5 days. Documentation of daily obstetric MDT ward round was variable, as was mother-baby contact. 0 of 25 women were seen in obstetric anaesthesia clinic after discharge, only 1 received outpatient ICU follow-up. 50% of postnatal admissions (n = 14) had documentation of significant psychological distress. In response a local checklist was developed with key colleagues to support collaborative working and standardise quality care. It includes automatic referral into obstetric anaesthesia clinic and access to a novel perinatal mental health service. Discussion(s): A peripartum admission to ICU is highly likely to be experienced as traumatic [2]. The incidence of obstetric ICU admissions may increase in the context of greater clinical complexity of the UK pregnant population and COVID-19, whilst the non-anaesthetic ICU workforce may have little obstetric training. Obstetric anaesthetists are therefore uniquely skilled to facilitate quality resuscitation and referral to ICU, but gold-standard holistic care extends beyond admission. We believe regular audit and dedicated local care pathways which incorporate proactive debriefing and psychological health can improve the care of this important group of women.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd