[Comparison of the rate of complications after primary, secondary and emergency Cesarean section]

3799 women delivered by cesarean section at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the University of Ulm between 1978 and 1988 were retrospectively divided into three groups, according to the urgency of cesarean section: group [1]: elective cesarean section (n = 1333), group [2]: urgent cesarean section (n = 2295), group [3]: emergency cesarean section (n = 171). Group [1] comprised the greatest risk in terms of maternal diseases, pregnancy complications and previous cesarean sections, group [2] the least. Intraoperative complications were seen more often in group [3] than in groups [1] and [2] and included a greater number of operations lasting more than 2 hours (group [3]: 2.3%, group [1] and [2]: < or = 0.5%), a higher incidence of severe blood loss and consequent need for blood transfusions, and of serious complications such as damage to adjacent organs and need for hysterectomy (group [3] 4.7%, groups [1] and [2]: 1.6%). In group [3] the rate of postoperative complications, especially of infections, was unexpectedly low (e.g. fever > 38 degrees C in group [1]: 8.6%, group [2]: 11.5%, and in group [3]: 9.9%). This was not only explainable by more frequent prophylactic use, in group [3], of antibiotics whose efficacy in reducing infections was demonstrated. Altogether five patients died, two deaths, both in group [2], were directly related to cesarean section. Between 1978 and 1988 an increasing incidence of low birth weight infants was found in all groups, with the highest rate in group [3].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)