Does the mode of anesthesia affect the feto-maternal outcome in category-1 caesarean section? A prospective non-randomized study comparing spinal versus general anesthesia

Background: There are some advantages and drawbacks of both spinal (SA) and general anaesthesia (GA) used for caesarean section (CS) and there is no fully perfect process. Although GA is still the first choice for category‑1 emergency CS because of time constraints, but this technique poses several problems. This study was planned to compare maternal and fetal results in women undergoing emergent CS with spinal or general anesthesia.Materials and Methods: This study took place at Benha University Hospital during the period from August 2020 to February 2021. It included 74 patients who had emergency CS and were subdivided into 2 groups according to the appropriate clinical indications. Patient features, CS indication, decision-to-delivery interval (DDI), uterine incision-to delivery (UIDT), cord blood pH, Apgar scores, length of hospital stay (LOS) and maternal morbidity have been noted.Results: 74 patients were included in the analysis of total 77 patients underwent category 1 CS. The DDI and UIDT were not significantly different. One and 5-min Apgar scores were significantly higher in SA group compared to GA group. The umbilical cord blood pH showed no difference. No differences were noted between both groups regarding neonatal and maternal morbidity postoperative.Conclusion: GA may be considered the fastest anaesthesia procedure in emergency situations, as it eliminates the risk of a failed regional block. In the meantime, the danger to mother or fetus is higher. Thus, we recommend regional anesthesia wherever possible due to better outcome regarding APGAR score and LOS.