Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. Supplement
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Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand Suppl · Jan 1984
Case Reports Comparative StudyGeneral anaesthesia versus epidural block for caesarean section in patient with pre-eclampsia.
To protect mother and fetus from the stress of vaginal delivery, caesarean section is to be chosen in severe cases of pre-eclampsia. When general anaesthesia is used, attention must be paid to the increase in arterial pressure, pulmonary arterial pressure (PA) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCW), which occur during intubation, tracheal suction and extubation. In epidural block, on the other hand, hypotension is a common phenomenon if the hypovolaemia is not corrected before the anaesthesia. It is important for the anaesthesiologist to see these women early to be able to treat the hypovolaemia and hypertension prior to caesarean section.
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Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand Suppl · Jan 1984
Causes and consequences of maternal and fetal sympathoadrenal activation during parturition.
The sympathoadrenal system is activated in both the mother and fetus during parturition. The fetal plasma catecholamines may reach extremely high levels during deliveries complicated by asphyxia. ⋯ Such an increase may be avoided by adequate maternal pain relief and by the sympathetic blockade which follows epidural anaesthesia. Fetal sympathoadrenal activation during parturition seems on the contrary to be of positive functional importance both for fetal circulatory regulation in utero a well as for the neonatal adaptation in terms of pulmonary function and metabolic stimulation.