How long does it take to deliver a baby by emergency Caesarean section?
This audit documented the current range of decision-to-delivery reaction times for 464 emergency Caesarean sections performed in maternity hospitals with differing levels of facilities, and examined the reasons for any perceived delay. The median (with 10th-90th percentile) times from when the decision was made to perform an emergency Caesarean section to the delivery of the child were: 69 (37-114), 54 (28-94) and 42 (17-86) minutes in Level 1, 2 and 3 maternity hospitals respectively when the indication for delivery was urgent. Less urgent emergency Caesarean sections took 70 (42-125), 66 (38-141) and 67 (35-164) minutes respectively. The main perceived reasons for delay in the delivery were staff unavailability in Level 1 hospitals, theatre access in Level 2 hospitals and anaesthetic complications in Level 3 hospitals. Therefore the decision-to-delivery reaction times in the majority of urgent emergency Caesarean sections are, in practice, much longer than the times commonly advocated and are influenced by the facilities and staff available.
Spencer
M K
MK
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Adelaide University, South Australia, Australia.
MacLennan
A H
AH
D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003657:Decision Making; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D018579:Patient Selection; D011247:Pregnancy; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013021:South Australia; D013997:Time Factors; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D000078329:Workforce