Comparison of the effects of general and regional anesthesia for cesarean section on neonatal neurologic and adaptive capacity scores.

Fifty-two neonates delivered by elective cesarean section were evaluated using the Neonatal Neurologic and Adaptive Capacity Scores. Twenty of the mothers received general anesthesia, 14 received epidural, and 18 received spinal anesthesia. All mothers receiving regional anesthesia were prehydrated with 1000 ml of lactated Ringer's solution and were given oxygen via a transparent face mask. All mothers undergoing general anesthesia received thiopental for induction followed by N2O-O2 (4 L:4 L) and 0.5% enflurane until delivery of the baby. All mothers were healthy, not in labor, and were scheduled for elective cesarean section. All neonates weighed 2500 g or more, had Apgar scores of 7 or more at 1 and 5 min, and had normal acid base and blood gas data. Neonates delivered with general anesthesia scored significantly lower on some of the test items for adaptive capacity, passive tone, active tone, primary reflexes, and total scores at both 15 min and 2 hr of age (P less than 0.05) than those delivered with either epidural or spinal anesthesia. Neonates delivered with epidural anesthesia scored lower than those delivered with spinal anesthesia on supporting reaction and motor activity at 2 hr of age (P less than 0.05). All neonates had high scores at 24 hr, at which time there were no significant differences between the three groups.