Ginekol Pol
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Review
[Decision-to-delivery interval (DDI) for emergency cesarean sections in Polish healthcare system].
Cesarean section is one of most common obstetric procedures, with the incidence of 33.9-43.1% of all labors in Poland. If the indication for cesarean section is 'immediate threat to maternal or fetal life', then the procedure must be performed without delay. The fact that time elapsed between decision to operate and delivery (decision-to-delivery interval, DDI) affects fetal outcome has been widely discussed. ⋯ Anesthesiologists deem patients eligible for anesthesia and are also responsible for efficiency of its administration. Furthermore, few additional factors which seem to be fundamentally important in achieving optimal DDI have been identified and they depend on hospital management decisions, namely sufficient number of qualified staff, regular training in emergency procedures, availability of operating theaters, as well as fast and safe transportation of patients between the admission room, obstetrics department and operating theaters. In conclusion, we wish to emphasize that optimal DDI depends on proper collaboration of numerous teams, what may be important when discussing personal responsibility in obstetric failures.