title: Blood loss in elective cesarean section: is there a difference related to the type of anesthesia? A randomized prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to compare the effect of general and spinal anesthesia on maternal blood loss in elective cesarean section (CS).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective randomized study and included 418 healthy pregnant women with a term uncomplicated singleton pregnancy between 37 and 41 weeks of gestation. The study participants were randomly divided into two groups: the general anesthesia group and spinal anesthesia group. CSs were all performed using the same surgical technique, and within the groups, the same anesthetic procedures were used (either general or spinal). The primary outcome for this study was operative blood loss. Hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations were compared between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The preoperative hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were similar in the both groups (p=0.08 and p=0.239, respectively). Significantly lower operative blood loss was achieved using spinal anesthesia versus general anesthesia during elective CS. The differences between preoperative and postoperative blood values for both the study groups were statistically significant (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that spinal anesthesia is associated with a lower risk of operative blood loss than general anesthesia in low risk patients undergoing elective CS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kayseri Military Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aksoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kayseri Memorial Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ülkü
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Aksoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kayseri Acıbadem Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yücel
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kayseri Traininig and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sezin Saygı
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Özyurt
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kayseri Traininig and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gökhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Açmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa Alparslan
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Babayiğit
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology, Kayseri Traininig and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Günhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gökahmetoğlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kayseri Acıbadem Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Turgut
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aydın
keywords: Operative blood loss; anesthesia; cesarean section