DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjams.2025.v13i12.004

Pages: 1982-1985

Objectives: To determine the epidemiological profile, anesthetic technique and outcomes of patients who underwent anesthesia for emergency cesarean section in a rural African setting. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study including all patients who underwent anesthesia for emergency cesarean section at the Kaffrine Regional Hospital Center from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. Results: During the study, 280 women underwent anesthesia for emergency cesarean section, representing 22.85% of all cesarean sections. The mean age of the patients was 22 years. The most frequent surgical indications were gestational hypertension (38.88%) and dystocia (33.33%). A preoperative assessment was performed on all patients, in the majority of cases by a nurse anesthetist (86%). Spinal anesthesia was the most frequently used anesthetic technique (80.55%) and hyperbaric bupivacaine was the local anesthetic employed. The combination of propofol and suxamethonium was the predominant rapid sequence induction protocol used for general anesthesia. Perioperative incidents were mainly represented by hypotension. Blood transfusion was used in 5.90% of cases. Seventeen patients (5.90%) experienced postoperative complications. We noted three maternal deaths (1.04%). Conclusion: Emergency cesarean section is a frequent occurrence and a source of complications in our setting. A better understanding of anesthetic procedures would help reduce morbidity and mortality.