[Clinic structure and timely management of emergency cesarean section--reference values and recommendations]

This retrospective clinical study was performed to analyze the relationship between the time course of an emergency Cesarean Section and the structural, logistic and circadian aspects of the clinical environment.

Statistical analysis was based on architectural and structural data from 132 Departments of Obstetrics in the region of Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany. Hospitals were compared in four groups of equal size defined by the number of deliveries per year. Data were available on 207 emergency C-Sections from 66 participating hospitals. The time of the day of each delivery was rounded to full hours.

The size of the hospital was a highly significant predictor (p < 0.001) of the time elapsing between decision making and delivery (DD-interval) and of the preparation time required prior to the start of the operation: With increasing number of yearly deliveries the DD interval decreased from 31 minutes (SD = 15) to 19 minutes (SD = 7) with respective set-up times of 26 minutes (SD = 15) and 15 minutes (SD = 7) respectively. The time of the day had a significant influence on both variables (p < 0.05) with emergency C-Sections being slowest between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. The mean time intervals observed may serve as a reference for the individual hospital situation: A preparation time of 15 minutes, time from start of surgery until delivery of 4 minutes and a DD interval of 19 minutes.

The data presented in this study underline the importance of the immediate availability of a complete emergency team consisting of midwife, obstetrician, anesthesiologist, OR nursing staff and pediatrician. While not necessarily arguing in favor of a concentration of obstetrical practice in specialized centers, the following recommendations might be worth considering for any given clinical setting: 1. Immediate availability of a complete team is essential, especially during the night. 2. Well defined steps of urgency in agreement between all disciplines involved improve communication and save time. 3. The emergency C-Section in the delivery room may be a worthwhile alternative in the individual case. 4. Flexibility in the decision making process may increase efficiency. 5. Practice drills may help to identify weaknesses in the interaction and coordination of the team. 6. A functional hospital architecture is important to avoid unnecessary and uncontrollable delays. 7. Adequate training programs for the obstetrical team are essential with special emphasis on the early diagnosis of fetal distress and maternal complications.