The decision-to-delivery interval in emergency Caesarean sections and its correlation with perinatal outcome: evidence from 204 deliveries in a developing country
Singh, R.; Deo, S.; Pradeep, Y.
Tropical Doctor 42(2): 67-69
2012
ISSN/ISBN: 0049-4755 PMID: 22431820 DOI: 10.1258/td.2012.110315Document Number: 552412
The international standard decision-to-delivery interval (DDI) for emergency Caesarean sections (CSs) is ≤3 minutes but there is little evidence to support this recommendation. The aim of this study was to evaluate DDI for emergency CS and its relationship to perinatal outcome. We undertook a prospective observational study of consecutive cases of emergency CS. Perinatal outcomes were recorded as: Apgar score; neonates requiring admission; and perinatal deaths. The relation between DDI and perinatal outcome was analysed using chi-square and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Of 24 pregnancies observed, 19% of deliveries were achieved in ≤3 minutes. The mean DDI was 42.5 ± 19.4 minutes. There was no difference between the perinatal outcome for babies with DDI of ≤3 versus 31–6 minutes. There was a significantly higher risk of poor perinatal outcome for babies with DDI > 6 minutes. The perinatal outcome between DDI of ≤3 and 31–6 minutes was statistically not different. However, the ≤3 minutes DDI should remain the gold standard.