Evaluation of patient satisfaction about the use of regional anesthesia for cesarean section in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi J Anaesth. 2023 Jul-Sep;17(3):334-339. doi: 10.4103/sja.sja_784_22. Epub 2023 Jun 22.

Abstract

Background and aim: Regional anesthesia for cesarean delivery has become a popular choice due to with its immediate effect and high frequency of effective blockage. However, patient satisfaction is a critical indicator of anesthetic care quality. This research aimed to determine the mothers' satisfaction levels after they had an elective or emergency cesarean section under regional anesthesia.

Materials and methods: This noninterventional, descriptive, cross-sectional questionnaire-based study included 327 participants to evaluate patients' satisfaction with regional anesthesia for cesarean section in Saudi Arabia. The research employed descriptive analysis and a modified Likert scale to assess maternal satisfaction. The study considered a P value of ≤0.05 to decide statistical significance.

Results: The respondents' overall satisfaction with regional anesthesia services were rated high, and 198 (60.6%) were satisfied with recommending regional anesthesia to others, while only 28 (8.6%) disagreed with recommending regional anesthesia to others. Most participants scored higher satisfaction rates in all areas of the study. About 233 (71.7%) reported satisfaction concerning the anesthesia staff for patients' privacy; nearly 226 (69.1%) agreed with the level of professionalism of the anesthesia team. Also, 253 (77.4%) were satisfied with the anesthesia team's politeness.

Conclusion: Our study concluded that a higher satisfaction rate is associated with regional anesthesia among participants who underwent cesarean section.

Keywords: Cesarean section; patient satisfaction; regional anesthesia.