Timing and risk factors of maternal complications of cesarean section

Eran Hadar, Nir Melamed, Keren Tzadikevitch-Geffen, Yariv Yogev*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the timing and risk factors of maternal complications of cesarean section (CS). Methods: Review of the files of all women who underwent CS at a tertiary medical center between September 2007 and December 2008 yielded 100 patients with postpartum complications. Their clinical and surgery-related characteristics were compared with 100 women with uncomplicated CS operated in January 2009. Complications were analyzed by prevalence and time of occurrence. Results: The only between-group difference in background factors was a higher rate of obesity (BMI > 30) in the controls. The complication rate was 5.7%. The most common complication was endomyometritis (3.6%), followed by wound infection (1.8%) and wound hematoma (1.2%). In most cases, endomyometritis was diagnosed on postoperative days 2-3 and wound complications on days 2-5; 7 of the 9 readmissions occurred on postoperative days 5-6. On multivariate analysis, significant independent predictors of postoperative complications were surgeon experience (OR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.2-4.8) and intra-partum CS (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-4.3). Conclusion: Cesarean section performed by a resident or during active labor is associated with an increased risk of postpartum complications. Medical teams should be alert to morbidity in women at risk, particularly during the first 4 days after CS.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)735-741
Number of pages7
JournalArchives of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Volume283
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2011

Keywords

  • Cesarean section
  • Complications
  • Maternal
  • Risk factors
  • Timing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Timing and risk factors of maternal complications of cesarean section'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this