Neonatal outcomes following caesarean section in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, North-west Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Type of anaesthesia is believed to have a role in neonatal outcomes at birth. Regional anaesthesia is thought to have a better neonatal outcome. We assessed the APGAR scores of neonates, the effect of anesthetic technique and associations between maternal and neonatal variables. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from 1st August, 2018, to 31st January, 2019, at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. Ethics approval was obtained from College of Health Science Ethics Committee, Bayero University Kano. All consenting pregnant women scheduled for elective or emergency caesarean section within the study period were recruited. Information such as anesthesia delivery interval and neonatal outcomes were recorded on a questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Fisher’s Exact Test was used for categorical data, and the P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Sixty-six pregnant women were recruited. The mean age (±SD) of the pregnant women was 29.4±5.58 years. Up to 59 patients (89.4%) received subarachnoid block (SAB). Thirty six (54.5%) were delivered within 10 minutes following administration of anesthesia. Most of the newborns had normal heart rate 65 (98.5%) and Apgar scores at 1st and 5th minutes (51 (77.3%), 62 (93.9%) respectively. Only ASA PS class was found to be statistically associated with neonatal Apgar scores at 5th minutes (Fisher’s Exact Test = 0.039). Conclusion: Subarachnoid block was the main anesthesia type for caesarean section and more than half of the patients were delivered following administration of anesthesia within 10 minutes with excellent neonatal outcomes.