Shoulder pain after caesarean section: Comparison between general and spinal anaesthesia

Abstract

This study investigated shoulder pain as a maternal complication after caesarean section (CS), evaluation of its prevalence and comparison between spinal anaesthesia (SA) and general anaesthesia (GA) groups. A total of 200 women as CS candidates were allocated into two equal groups; SA and GA. The total prevalence of shoulder pain was 39.45%. The two groups were matched according to demographic data. However, the incidence of shoulder pain in the GA group was more than that in the SA group (p =0.004). Shoulder pain in the right shoulder in the GA group was more prevalent than the left shoulder (p <0.001). Moderate severity of shoulder pain was significantly more in the GA group (p =0.000), while in the SA group, the mild severity was significant (p <0.001). Our study revealed that the incidence of shoulder pain after CS is significant. Moreover, shoulder pain was significantly more common in the GA group than the SA group.

Keywords::

• Caesarean section
• general anaesthesia
• shoulder pain
• spinal anaesthesia

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff of the Imam Reza and Imam Zaman Hospitals, especially Mrs Akbar-abadi, for collecting the data.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.