Compared with general anaesthesia , a central neuraxial block may reduce the zero to 30-day mortality for patients undergoing surgery with intermediate to high cardiac risk ( level of evidence , moderate ) .
BACKGROUND Various beneficial effects derived from neuraxial blocks have been reported .
However , it is unclear whether these effects have an influence on perioperative mortality and major pulmonary/cardiovascular complications .
OBJECTIVES Our primary objective was to summarize Cochrane systematic review s that assess the effects of neuraxial blockade on perioperative rates of death , chest infection and myocardial infa rct ion by integrating the evidence from all such review s that have compared neuraxial blockade with or without general anaesthesia versus general anaesthesia alone for different types of surgery in various population s. Our secondary objective was to summarize the evidence on adverse effects ( an adverse event for which a causal relation between the intervention and the event is at least a reasonable possibility ) of neuraxial blockade .
Anaesthetic technique for elective caesarean section and neurobehavioural status of newborns.
Ninety healthy parturients undergoing elective caesarean section were r and omly allocated to receive either general ( n = 30 ) , epidural ( n = 30 ) or spinal ( n = 30 ) anaesthesia .  Acid-base status , Apgar score and neurobehavioural status , using the neurologic and adaptive capacity scoring ( NACS ) system , were studied in the newborn . Apgar scores and acid-base parameters were similar in all the three groups . NACS testing revealed significantly more vigorous babies in the spinal anaesthesia group than in the other two groups at 15 min and 2 h interval after delivery , despite a higher incidence of maternal hypotension . We conclude that newborns tend to have a better neurobehavioural status in the early post-delivery period if their mothers receive spinal anaesthesia rather than general or epidural anaesthesia for caesarean section
Compared with general anaesthesia , a central neuraxial block may reduce the zero to 30-day mortality for patients undergoing surgery with intermediate to high cardiac risk ( level of evidence , moderate ) .
BACKGROUND Various beneficial effects derived from neuraxial blocks have been reported .
However , it is unclear whether these effects have an influence on perioperative mortality and major pulmonary/cardiovascular complications .
OBJECTIVES Our primary objective was to summarize Cochrane systematic review s that assess the effects of neuraxial blockade on perioperative rates of death , chest infection and myocardial infa rct ion by integrating the evidence from all such review s that have compared neuraxial blockade with or without general anaesthesia versus general anaesthesia alone for different types of surgery in various population s. Our secondary objective was to summarize the evidence on adverse effects ( an adverse event for which a causal relation between the intervention and the event is at least a reasonable possibility ) of neuraxial blockade .