Comparison of postoperative pain during caesarean section under general anesthesia and spinal anesthesia

Abstract

This study presents a number of ideas and comparisons regarding whether there is a difference between the degree of postoperative pain in cesarean sections with epidural anesthesia compared to spinal anesthesia, focusing on comparing intraoperative desflurane in general anesthesia. In the comparison, the primary outcome regarding postoperative pain levels over 24 hours showed that there is no significant difference in postoperative pain between groups. Regarding postoperative secondary outcomes, the recovery time and remifentanil cumulative dose were different intraoperatively between groups. From this study's results, we can conclude that there is no significant difference in postoperative pain during cesarean sections in general anesthesia and spinal anesthesia. The increase in intraoperative opioids and depth of anesthesia in both groups reduces the incidence of VRS 1-24 hour postoperative pain equally. However, a longer time for the first analgesic request was obtained with the caudal technique compared to general anesthesia. These results could discourage the routine use of general anesthesia for analgesic purposes in comparison to other anesthetic approaches in cesarean sections. However, further randomized controlled studies should be conducted across health institutions or populations to confirm and extend these findings.