Angiotensin converting enzyme as a possible biomarker to predict effect of obstetric anesthesia on pregnant women with COVID-19 infection

ABSTRACT

We retrospectively investigated 68 parturients with or without COVID-19 undergone emergency cesarean section with combined spinal-epidural anesthesia(CSEA) from a single tertiary university hospital in Wuhan, China. The cases were divided into 2 groups patients with COVID-19 pneumonia(Group 1) and cases without COVID-19 pneumonia(Group 2). The patients in Group 1 were later divided into 2 groups patients with low-angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE)(Group 3) and patients with normal-ACE(Group 4). The ACE levels, blood pressure and anesthesia management between the patients of Group 1 and Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4 were recorded as the primary outcome. The secondary outcome included perioperative symptoms, laboratory parameters and vital signs. Compared with Group 2, the patients in Group 1 had different ACE level and lower blood pressure after CSEA. Compared with Group 4, the patients in Group 3 showed lower SBP after CSEA(127 vs. 130 mm Hg, p=0.028), accompanied with more partus matures and younger age(28 vs. 32 years, p=0.007). ACE may be a possible biomarker to predict the anesthesia effects on patients with COVID-19 infections undergoing emergency cesarean delivery.