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. 2018 Sep 21;35(5):394-397.
doi: 10.4274/balkanmedj.2018.0083. Epub 2018 Jun 19.

Current Practice in Obstetric Anesthesia and Analgesia in Public Hospitals of Greece: A 2016 National Survey

Chryssoula Staikou  1 , Alexandros Μakris  2 , Kassiani Theodoraki  1 , Athanasia Τsaroucha  1 , Amalia Douma  3 , Eleni Μoka  4 , Eleni Αrnaoutoglou  5 , Tilemahos Paraskevopoulos  6 , Ioanna Siafaka  1 , Efi Stavropoulou  6 , Eriphili Αrgyra  1
Affiliations

Current Practice in Obstetric Anesthesia and Analgesia in Public Hospitals of Greece: A 2016 National Survey

Chryssoula Staikou et al. Balkan Med J. .

Abstract

Aims: This descriptive survey was to evaluate the use of regional anesthesia in obstetrics in Greek public hospitals.

Methods: The survey was conducted between March and August 2016. A structured questionnaire was sent to 50 anesthesia departments in Greek public hospitals with obstetric units.

Results: The response rate was 94%. Data corresponding to 9475 cesarean and 8155 vaginal deliveries were collected. Regional anesthesia was used in 69.2% of all cesareans, with single shot spinal being the most popular (44.3% of all cesareans). Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia was used in 18.1% of all cesareans (35.1% in hospitals of Athens versus 7.9% outside Athens, p<0.001). Post-cesarean analgesia was applied with simple analgesics and systematic opioids (78.6%). Long-acting spinal opioids were rarely used (4.4% of spinal and spinal/epidurals). Labor epidural analgesia was applied in 19.1% of all vaginal deliveries (30.3% in Athens versus 13.1% outside Athens, p<0.001). Paracetamol and pethidine represented the standard labor analgesics in 48.9% and 55.3% of all hospitals. Intravenous remifentanil was used in 10.6% of hospitals (50% in Athens versus 2.5% outside Athens, p=0.002). In 48.9% of hospitals, mainly outside Athens, the anesthesiologists did not get involved in labor analgesia.

Conclusion: Regional anesthesia is the most common practice for cesareans in Greek public hospitals; however, the percentage of general anesthesia remains high. In addition, the use of labor epidural analgesia is limited in hospitals outside Athens.

Keywords: Analgesia; healthcare; obstetrical; regional anesthesia; survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Type of analgesia provided for vaginal delivery in hospitals of Athens and other cities. PCA: patient-controlled analgesia
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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