Labor Analgesia in Times of Covid-19

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has represented changes in obstetric care and in anesthesiology practice, trying to avoid general anesthesia and promoting the early use of epidural catheters for the management of labor pain. The care of pregnant women represents a risk of contagion for health personnel and all recommendations have been made in order to provide safe environments for the patient and workers. Objective: To describe the current scientific knowledge on the analgesic management of the pregnant patient during the period of labor in times of COVID-19, through a bibliographic review of indexed research. Materials and methods: Theoretical-descriptive review, with analysis of scientific articles published in journals indexed between 2019-2022, consulting databases: PubMed, MedLine, Scielo, and Google Scholar.The PRISMA diagram was implemented as a tool. Results:The pain associated with labor can cause both maternal and fetal alterations and interfere with the normal development of the process. Neuraxial analgesia is recommended when COVID-19 is suspected or confirmed, reducing the need for general anesthesia in the emergency room.There is no evidence of contraindications in these cases and the possible emission of aerosols does not represent a greater risk of contagion. Conclusion: Neuraxial analgesia during labor is essential in obstetric care,even in the face of COVID-19 infection.It is currently known that aerosol-generating procedures do not represent a risk of transmission of coronavirus infection under biosafety conditions.