The Role of Regional Anesthesia During the SARS-CoV2 Pandemic: Appraisal of Clinical, Pharmacological and Organizational Aspects

Gianluca Cappelleri; Andrea Fanelli; Daniela Ghisi; Gianluca Russo; Antonio Giorgi; Vito Torrano; Giuliano Lo Bianco; Salvatore Salomone; Roberto Fumagalli

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.574091

The Role of Regional Anesthesia During the SARS-CoV2 Pandemic: Appraisal of Clinical, Pharmacological and Organizational Aspects

Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jun 4:12:574091. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.574091. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, Policlinico di Monza, Monza, Italy.
² Anesthesia, Postoperative Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute (IRCCS), Bologna, Italy.
³ Anesthesia, Postoperative Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, Lodi Hospital, Lodi, Italy.
⁴ Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy.
⁵ Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Asst Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy.
⁶ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
⁷ Anesthesiology and Pain Department, Fondazione Istituto G.Giglio, Cefalú, Italy.
⁸ Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
⁹ University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-CoV2 is spreading over millions of people worldwide, leading to thousands of deaths, even among the healthcare providers. Italy has registered the deaths of 337 physicians and more than 200 nurses as of March 14, 2021. Anesthesiologists are at higher risk as they are the care providers in both ICU and operating rooms.Although the vaccination of healthcare providers has been the prioirity, physicians are still continually exposed to the virus and potentially risk contagion and must thus protect themselves and their patients from the risks of infection while providing the best care to their surgical patients.Regional anesthesia allows for a reduction in airway manipulation, reducing environmental contamination as a result. Furthermore, regional anesthesia reduces the opioid requirements as well as the muscle paralysis due to muscle-relaxants and should be recommended whenever possible in COVID-19 patients. Our aim is to evaluate the advantages and criticisms of regional anesthesia in the management of surgical patients in the pandemic age.

Keywords: COVID-19; anesthesia; conduction; coronavirus; regional anaesthesia; regional anesthesia; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Publication types

Review