Challenging rule of 30-min decision-to-delivery interval during emergency cesarean section in a low-middle income country: A prospective study.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of the decision-to-delivery interval (DDI) on perinatal outcomes of emergency cesarean section (CS) deliveries at Karamara Hospital in the Somali region (Eastern Ethiopia).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Karamara General Hospital using data from STATA release 15. The χ²-test of association was conducted to assess the association between each categorical variable with the outcome variable and to identify candidate variables (with a P-value ≤0.25) to be included in the multivariable logistic regression model. The adjusted odds ratio and corresponding 95% confidence interval for the variables in the final model were reported.

Results: Of the 258 cases of CS deliveries included in the study, only 25 cases (9.6%) had a CS DDI of 30 min or less. The perinatal outcomes in both groups (DDI ≤30 min and DDI >30 min) were comparable, except for meconium aspiration syndrome, which was observed to be higher in the DDI ≤30 min group (73% vs. 37%, P-value = 0.024). However, there was no difference in the composite perinatal outcome between both groups.

Conclusion: The findings of this study show that a DDI of more than 30 min was not associated with poor perinatal outcome compared to DDI of 30 min or less.