International Journal of Women's Health (Aug 2023)
Prediction of Emergency Cesarean Section Using Detectable Maternal and Fetal Characteristics Among Saudi Women
Abstract
Hayfaa Wahabi,1,2 Amel Fayed,3 Hala Elmorshedy,3 Samia Ahmad Esmaeil,1,2 Yasser S Amer,1,4 Elshazaly Saeed,5 Amr Jamal,1,2 Sarah A Aleban,3 Reema Abdullah Aldawish,3 Lara Sabri Alyahiwi,3 Haya Abdullah Alnafisah,3 Raghad E AlSubki,3 Norah khalid Albahli,3 Aljohara Ayed Almutairi3 1Research Chair for Evidence-Based Health Care and Knowledge Translation, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University Medical City and College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Clinical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Clinical Practice Guidelines Unit, Quality Management Department, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 5Prince Abdulla bin Khaled Coeliac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Amel Fayed, Clinical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box: 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia, Tel + (966) 5943 95059, Email [email protected]: The worldwide rate of cesarean section (CS) is increasing. Development of prediction models for a specific population may improve the unmet need for CS as well as reduce the overuse of CS.Objective: To explore risk factors associated with emergency CS, and to determine the accuracy of predicting it.Methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of women who delivered between January 1, 2021-December 2022 was conducted, relevant maternal and neonatal data were retrieved.Results: Out of 1793 deliveries, 447 (25.0%) had emergency CS. Compared to control, the risk of emergency CS was higher in primiparous women (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.48 to 3.06), in women with higher Body mass index (BMI) (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.47), in association with history of previous CS (OR 4.81, 95% CI 3.24 to 7.15) and in women with abnormal amniotic fluid (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.55 to 3.41). Additionally, women with hypertensive disorders had a 176% increased risk of emergency CS (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.35– 5.63). Of note, the risk of emergency CS was more than three times higher in women who delivered a small for gestational age infant (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.93– 5.59). Based on the number of risk factors, a prediction model was developed, about 80% of pregnant women in the emergency CS group scored higher grades compared to control group. The area under the curve was 0.72, indicating a good discriminant ability of the model.Conclusion: This study identified several risk factors associated with emergency CS in pregnant Saudi women. A prediction model showed 72% accuracy in predicting the likelihood of emergency CS. This information can be useful to individualize the risk of emergency CS, and to implement appropriate measures to prevent unnecessary CS.Keywords: emergency cesarean section, indications, prediction, Saudi Arabia