Anaesthesia preference, neuraxial vs general, and outcome after caesarean section

We investigated parturients' preference for neuraxial vs general anaesthesia, while they have experienced both techniques in the past. A total of 102 parturients who underwent elective caesarean section under general or neuraxial anaesthesia at different times completed a questionnaire comparing the two techniques. According to our results, 98% vs 51% (p < 0.001) of the women saw the baby and 51% vs 29% (p=0.003) ambulated in the neuraxial and general anaesthesia groups, respectively, within the first 24 h postoperatively. Neuraxial anaesthesia was associated with less pain assessed by the Verbal Analogue Scale (VAS) (54 +/- 21 vs 72 +/- 20 p < 0.001), fewer days of hospital stay (4 +/- 0.5 vs 5 +/- 1.5, p=0.001) and higher satisfaction scores (77 +/- 18 vs 52 +/- 24, p=0.001) vs general anaesthesia. Finally, 80% of the women would choose neuraxial anaesthesia for a future caesarean section.