Supplemental oxygen in elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia: Handle the sword with care

We aimed to investigate the effect of 21% and 40% oxygen supplementation on maternal and neonatal oxidative stress in elective cesarean section (CS) under spinal anesthesia.

Eighty term parturients undergoing elective CS under spinal anesthesia were enrolled in the study. We allocated patients randomly to breathe 21% (air group) or 40% (oxygen group) oxygen from the time of skin incision until the end of the operation. We collected maternal pre- and post-operative and umbilical artery (UA) blood samples. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS) and the oxidative stress index (OSI) were measured.

Age, weight, height, parity, gestation week, spinal-skin incision time, skin incision-delivery time, delivery time, operation time, 1(st) and 5(th) minutes Apgar scores, and birth weight were similar between the groups (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). There were no differences in preoperative TAC, TOS, or OSI levels between the groups (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). Postoperative maternal TAC, TOS and OSI levels significantly increased in the oxygen group (p = 0.047, < 0.001 and 0.038, respectively); umbilical artery TAC levels significantly increased in the oxygen group (p = 0.003); and umbilical artery TOS and OSI levels significantly increased in the air group (p = 0.02 and < 0.001, respectively).

The difference in impact on maternal and fetal oxidative stress of supplemental 40% compared to 21% oxygen mandates further large-scale studies that investigate the role of oxygen supplementation during elective CS under spinal anesthesia.