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An obstetric anaesthetist—A key to successful conversion of epidural analgesia to surgical anaesthesia for caesarean delivery?
Author(s) -
Bjornestad Elin eb,
Haney Michael F.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.13493
Subject(s) - medicine , caesarean delivery , anesthesia , caesarean section , surgical procedures , surgery , pregnancy , genetics , biology
Managing an emergency caesarean section patient (C - section) is a challenging aspect of obstetric anaesthesia practice. The urgency of delivery can influence the mode of anaesthesia due to short time limits from decision to delivery. Given widely recognized risks associated with general anaesthesia and urgent/emergent C-section, how often can one safely manage the parturient with regional anaesthesia? Is this an expected result of subspecialty training, to more aggressively use regional anaesthesia in this setting? While spinal anaesthesia has gained wide acceptance, even with limited time frame goals from decision to delivery, epidural anaesthesia should be used when labour analgesia has been established prior to an emergency C-Section. The use of general anaesthesia may be reduced if the anesthesiologist attending the emergency C-section is an obstetric anesthetist as opposed to a non- specialist.1 This is the questions explored in the report by Wagner et al1 in this month's issue of Acta Anaesthesiological Scandinavica.