Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that hospitals providing obstetrical care should have the capability to begin cesarean deliveries within 30 minutes. This has been taken out of context in that failure to meet a 30-minute decision-to-incision time for urgent cesarean sections may be criticized litigiously if a poor neonatal outcome occurs. METHODS: After IRB approval, a retrospective chart review of 186 consecutive urgent cesarean deliveries during 2020 at an urban academic medical center was performed. Data were abstracted from patient and neonate charts. Statistical analysis was performed using χ2, t test, and Pearson’s r test. RESULTS: Sixty-seven percent of urgent cesarean section had a decision-to-incision time greater than 30 minutes. Mean time was 42 minutes and median time was 36 minutes (8–194 minutes). Seventy-one percent of patients with body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 had decision-to-incision times greater than 30 minutes, compared to 46% with BMI less than 30 (P=.03). Seventy-eight percent of patients without an epidural took more than 30 minutes, compared to 64% with an epidural (P=.09). Sixty-four percent of urgent cesarean sections occurring between 7 am and 5 pm had decision-to-incision times of greater than 30 minutes, compared to 69% between 5 pm and 7 am (P=.54). CONCLUSION: Sixty-seven percent of urgent cesarean sections had a decision-to-incision time greater than 30 minutes at an academic medical center. Deliveries with BMI greater than 30 were associated with failure to meet a 30-minute threshold. Not having an epidural trended towards failure to meet a 30-minute threshold. Whether delivering during the daytime or nighttime, race, and insurance status did not affect decision-to-incision times. Decision-to-incision time greater than 30 minutes did not affect umbilical cord arterial pH or neonatal intensive care unit admission.
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