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Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain Advance Access originally published online on September 2, 2009
Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain 2009 9(5):148-151; doi:10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkp025
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© The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournal.org

General anaesthesia for Caesarean section

Alan McGlennan, MB BS BSc FRCA
Consultant Anaesthetist
Royal Free Hospital
Pond Street
Hampstead
London NW3 2QG
UK
Tel: +44 207 794 0500 ext 36503
Fax: +44 20 7830 2245

Adnan Mustafa, FRCA
Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesia
Royal Free Hospital
Pond Street
Hampstead
London NW3 2QG
UK
E-mail: alan_mcglennan@hotmail.com (for correspondence)

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.


Key points

General anaesthesia for Caesarean section is still decreasing in incidence.
General anaesthesia may be indicated due to urgency, maternal refusal of regional techniques, inadequate regional block, or regional contraindications.
Obstetric indications, which were once considered absolute indications for general anaesthesia, such as placenta praevia, are now being routinely performed under regional anaesthesia.
Major complications include failed intubation, aspiration of gastric contents, increased blood loss, and awareness.
Difficulty in intubation is encountered 10 times more often than in the non-obstetric population.

 

The National Sentinel Caesarean Section Audit analysed data from 99% of the total births in England and Wales during 2001.1 There were 32 222 births by Caesarean section out of 150 139 maternities. The Caesarean section rate for England and Wales was 21% compared with a rate of 4% in the early 1960s. The Royal College of Anaesthetists audit book suggests that fewer than 15% of emergency and . . . [Full Text of this Article]


   Indications
 

   Conduct of general anaesthesia
 
Pre-assessment

Informed consent

Prophylaxis against acid aspiration

Induction

Perioperative care

Extubation and recovery

Postoperative analgesia

Thromboprophylaxis


   Complications
 

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