The comparsion of propofol with thiopental as induction drug on neonatal apgar during elective cesarean section

Background: Neonatal Apgar at birth is one of the leading factors of postnatal mortality. One of the factors affecting neonatal Apgar after cesarean section is the anesthetic drug. Propofol is better than thiopental to prepare patient for cesarean section but this is a controversial issue because of its side effects. We conducted this study to evaluate thiopental and propofol effects on neonatal Apgar score, maternal nausea and vomiting and maternal recovery time after anesthesia.

Materials and Method: After the approval of university ethics committee, 230 otherwise healthy women without fetal problems who were candidates for elective cesarean section under general anesthesia entered into the study. They were randomly divided into two groups to induce anesthesia with either propofol or thiopental. Other treatments were the same in two groups during anesthesia. First and fifth minute Apgar score, maternal recovery time and post operative nausea and vomiting were recorded.

Results: Data was analyzed digitally using SPSS-18 using chi-squared and student t-tests. Results show that 1^st and 5^th minute Apgar score were significantly higher in propofol group compared with thiopental. Recovery time was not different statistically in two groups. Nausea and vomiting was encountered less frequently in propofol group than thiopental.

Conclusion: It seems that in elective cesarean section in which there is no danger to mother and neonate without any contraindication, propofol may be useful as an anesthetic inducing agent. Despite its less effect on the neonatal Apgar score, it induces less post operative nausea and vomiting for mothers.