Challenges of Anesthesia in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Access to Safe Obstetric Anesthesia in East Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The United Nations 2015 Millennium Development Goals targeted a 75% reduction in maternal mortality. However, in spite of this goal, the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births remains unacceptably high across Sub-Saharan Africa. Because many of these deaths could likely be averted with access to safe surgery, including cesarean delivery, we set out to assess the capacity to provide safe anesthetic care for mothers in the main referral hospitals in East Africa.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted at 5 main referral hospitals in East Africa: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. Using a questionnaire based on the World Federation of the Societies of Anesthesiologists (WFSA) international guidelines for safe anesthesia, we interviewed an

SUBMITTER: Epiu I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5767165 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature