Obstetric anaesthesia: the source of the crisis

Abstract

Objectives: To determine whether there had been any change in the use of regional anaesthesia (RA) for Caesarean section (CS) from 2002 to 2004, following eductional interventions promoting the use of RA for CS
Design: An audit using retrospectively gathered data
Setting: Level 1 and 2 hosptials where CS's were performed, in the Free State
Subjects: All women having CS's in the 3 month period September 1st to November 30th in 2002 and same time period in 2004
Outcome measures: Number of CS's performed using RA and number performed using general anaesthesia.
REsults: The number of CS's performed using RA rose from 71.2% in 2002 to 86.2% in 2004 (p<0.0001)
Conclusion: There was a significant rise in RA use for CS's in Level 1 and 2 hospitlas in the Free State from 2002 to 2004.