• C C Rout.
• Department of Anaesthetics, School of Clinical Sciences, Nelson R Mandela Medical School, University of Natal, 719 Umbilo Road, Durban, Congella 4013, South Africa.
• Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2001 Aug 1; 15 (4): 507-22.

AbstractAnaesthetic and analgesic techniques in the critically ill are determined largely by the nature of the presenting illness. The commonest conditions likely to present as life-threatening emergencies are pre-eclampsia, obstetric haemorrhage, cardiac disease and severe sepsis. Issues dictating choice of anaesthetic technique are the patient's ability to maintain her airway, coagulation status, intravascular volume and haemodynamic dependence upon sympathetic drive, and requirements for ventilatory support and intensive care. Fetal well-being is an issue in the antepartum period, uteroplacental blood flow should be maintained and hypotension avoided. Maternal survival takes priority, however, and occasionally general anaesthetic techniques must be used which lead to neonatal respiratory depression and requirement for ventilatory support. Anaesthesia itself is associated with known hazards. The risks of each technique must be balanced against possible benefits in the context of the presenting illness.Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

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