Effects of general anaesthesia versus spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section on postoperative analgesic consumption and postoperative pain

Background and Purpose: Regional anaesthesia is commonly used for elective caesarean section.The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a positive effect of either general or spinal anesthesia on postoperative analgesic requirements and pain relief. Methods: The level of postoperative analgesia has been compared in 64 women (ASA I or II) scheduled for elective caesarean section. General anaesthesia was performed with propofol, suxamethonium chloride,oxygen, nitrus oxide, and maintenance with 0,5% isoflurane and fentanyl. To achieve a sensory block height to the level of the sixth thoracic dermatome, spinal anaesthesia was performed with hyperbaric 0,5% levobupivacaine and 25 μg fentanyl. For all the patients postoperative analgesia was available on request without any limitation on time by administering the same dose of 75 mg i.m. diclofenac. If the patient had inadequate analgesia it was supplemented with 100 mg s.c. tramadol. Postoperative pain was recorded using visual analogue pain score as well as analgesic requirements over the first 24h after surgery. Results: The time to first request for analgesia was significantly longer in the spinal anesthesia group (p