Influence of the kind of anesthesia and length of hospitalization on the frequency of early complications of abortion
Andolsek, L.; Hren, M.
Jugoslavenska Ginekologija i Opstetricija 16(3): 175-183
1976
ISSN/ISBN: 0017-002X PMID: 1004001 Document Number: 97470
3004 healthy women, pregnant from the 7th to the 12th week, were administered abortions as an outpatient/inpatient procedure with general/local anesthesia. A case-control study compared the results for the different procedures. The outpatient procedure required a 5-hour stay, the inpatient at least a 24-hour stay. 1509 women were given general anesthesia and 1495 local anesthesia. No significant differences in the rate of complications depending on the type of procedure and anesthesia were observed. Postabortal hemorrhaging did appear to be more frequent in those women using local anesthesia, but this is considered to be due to the method of abortion, here vacuum aspiration, and not connected to the type of anesthesia. The longer hospital stay did not decrease the number of complications, but did increase hospital bed occupancy more than expected.