No higher risk of severe hypotension in Covid-19 mothers undergoing C-sections: study

The risk of severe hypotension during spinal anesthesia for cesarean section in Covid-19-infected mothers is not significantly different from that of non-infected mothers, according to a new study.

The National Medical Center said Thursday that Dr. Kim Kun-hee, a specialist in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, won the Best Paper Award at the 28th Congress of the Korean Society of Obstetric Anesthesiologists for the first Korean study to analyze the incidence and risk factors of hypotension during cesarean sections performed under spinal anesthesia in Covid-19-infected mothers compared with non-infected mothers.

Dr. Kim and her research team conducted a retrospective comparative analysis of Covid-19-infected and non-infected mothers who underwent cesarean sections at the National Cancer Center between 2020 and 2022.

The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the risk of severe hypotension between the two groups. However, the preoperative resting heart rate of Covid-19-infected mothers was positively associated with the severity of hypotension.

The study was recognized for both its practical and academic value, as it analyzed real-world clinical data from the National Medical Center, which served as a key infectious disease control institution during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was particularly praised for contributing to the development of effective strategies to improve anesthesia safety for Covid-19-infected mothers and their newborns undergoing cesarean sections.

“This study is meaningful in that it provided clinical evidence to improve anesthesia safety for mothers infected with Covid-19, a new infectious disease, and produced valuable results using data from the National Medical Center, which has been at the forefront of Korea’s Covid-19 response,” Dr. Kim said. “As a public healthcare provider, I will continue to work on surgical anesthesia strategies for high-risk situations, such as those involving infectious diseases.”