COVID-19 pandemic: regional anesthesia should be the new norm! ============================================================== * Tuhin Mistry * Shiv Kumar Singh * pain management * regional anesthesia * acute pain * analgesia To the Editor We read the letter entitled ‘Advocate for regional anesthesia in the corona pandemic?’ by Dr Harshal D Wagh, with great interest.1 We agree with the author’s concern about the safety of anesthesiologist as front-line healthcare worker during this coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. General anesthesia (GA) with airway instrumentation leads to aerosol generation and dispersion of viral particles. It exposes the anesthesiologists and intensivists to the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The various potentially aerosol-generating procedures which anesthesiologists may come across include mask ventilation, tracheal intubation, extubation, tracheostomy, emergency front of neck access, non-invasive ventilation, disconnection of ventilatory circuits during use, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, bronchoscopy and tracheal suction without a closed system.2 Ideally, airway management in patients with COVID-19 needs to be conducted in a negative pressure room with good rates of air exchange, which may not be present in the emergency rooms and operating theaters in many healthcare facilities.3 Management of patient during corona pandemic demands ensuring patient safety and our protection from getting infected. Virus may be transmitted even from asymptomatic carriers scheduled for surgery. Use of regional anesthesia (RA), being a non-aerosol-generating procedure, has tremendous potential in the COVID-19 era. It should be considered as a stand-alone anesthesia technique wherever applicable. In general, RA compared with GA may provide better perioperative pain management resulting in the reduction of opioid consumption. Additional benefits may include reductions in postoperative pulmonary complications, nausea and vomiting, cognitive dysfunction, and delirium. Furthermore, avoiding airway instrumentation would decrease aerosol generation and reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The relative preservation of respiratory function may reduce postoperative pulmonary complications specially in patients with COVID-19-associated pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome.4 The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and European Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy have recently published a joint statement on practice recommendations on neuraxial anesthesia and peripheral nerve blocks during the COVID-19 pandemic.5 The guidelines describe various practical aspects with regard to perioperative management of patients with COVID-19 using RA techniques. Wider adoption of these recommendations will help the anesthesiologists to protect themselves from additional exposure to novel coronavirus and acceptance of this new norm may help in improving patient safety and perioperative management. ## Footnotes * Twitter @ShivRoyal * Contributors Both the authors contributed equally to the planning, preparation and editing of the manuscript. * Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. * Competing interests None declared. * Patient consent for publication Not required. * Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed. * Received April 29, 2020. * Revision received May 2, 2020. * Accepted May 4, 2020. * © American Society of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained. [https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage](https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage) ## References 1. Wagh HD . Advocate for regional anesthesia in the corona pandemic? Reg Anesth Pain Med 2021;46:187. [doi:10.1136/rapm-2020-101464](http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2020-101464) pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32321861 [FREE Full Text](http://rapm.bmj.com/lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiRlVMTCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6NDoicmFwbSI7czo1OiJyZXNpZCI7czo4OiI0Ni8yLzE4NyI7czo0OiJhdG9tIjtzOjIxOiIvcmFwbS80Ni8yLzE4Ni4yLmF0b20iO31zOjg6ImZyYWdtZW50IjtzOjA6IiI7fQ==) 2. Tran K , Cimon K , Severn M , et al . Aerosol generating procedures and risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections to healthcare workers: a systematic review. PLoS One 2012;7:e35797. [doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035797](http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035797) pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22563403 [CrossRef](http://rapm.bmj.com/lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1371/journal.pone.0035797&link_type=DOI) [PubMed](http://rapm.bmj.com/lookup/external-ref?access_num=22563403&link_type=MED&atom=%2Frapm%2F46%2F2%2F186.2.atom) 3. Wax RS , Christian MD . Practical recommendations for critical care and anesthesiology teams caring for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) patients. Can J Anaesth 2020;67:568–76.[doi:10.1007/s12630-020-01591-x](http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12630-020-01591-x) pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32052373 [CrossRef](http://rapm.bmj.com/lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1007/s12630-020-01591-x&link_type=DOI) [PubMed](http://rapm.bmj.com/lookup/external-ref?access_num=http://www.n&link_type=MED&atom=%2Frapm%2F46%2F2%2F186.2.atom) 4. Lie SA , Wong SW , Wong LT , et al . Practical considerations for performing regional anesthesia: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Can J Anaesth 2020:1–8.[doi:10.1007/s12630-020-01637-0](http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12630-020-01637-0) pmid:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32212103 5. Uppal V , Sondekoppam RV , Lobo CA , et al . Practice recommendations on neuraxial anesthesia and peripheral nerve blocks during the COVID-19 Pandemic- a joint statement by the American Society of regional anesthesia and pain medicine (ASRA) and European Society of regional anesthesia and pain therapy (ESRA), March 31, 2020. Available: [https://www.asra.com/content/documents/ra-covid19_final.pdf](https://www.asra.com/content/documents/ra-covid19_final.pdf)