The Mortality Rate in COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Anesthesia for Surgical Procedures

Background: Planning anesthesia for coronavirus disease (COVID) positive patients remains a big dilemma for anesthesiologists. Aside associated harms of postponing surgeries, there is concern about the outcome of COVID after surgical stress, limitation of resources, and personal safety. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of surgery and anesthesia on the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: A total of 179 patients (COVID-positive) who underwent surgery under anesthesia from March 2020 until March 2021 were retrospectively evaluated. The type of surgery, type of anesthesia, and outcome of patients were recorded. Renal and liver function tests as well as respiratory system function before and after surgery were compared. Results: Among them, 39 patients died (27%). Laboratory data including creatinine (Cr), Aspartate Transaminase (AST), Alanine Transaminase (ALT), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALK), and troponin were not significantly different preoperatively and post-operatively. 28 patients (15.6%) were intubated due to post-operative respiratory failure. In our study mortality rate for all types of surgery was 27% and the postoperative intubation rate was 15.6%. We did not have any organ failure after interventional procedures. Conclusion: The risk of infection progression must be weighed before scheduling invasive procedures. Moreover, regional anesthesia may be less harmful in case of urgent or emergent need for surgery in infected patients.