Abstract: Background: With the increasing use of neuraxial techniques, experience in general anesthesia for the obstetric patient is decreasing. This means that anesthetists are exposed to fewer obstetric general anesthesia in their training. Object: This review aims to describe the current consensus and future research directions regarding general anesthesia for cesarean section. Contents: For obstetric patient, rapid-sequence anesthesia induction using thiopental and suxamethonium has been the recommended standard for a long time. In recent years, anesthesia induction using propofol, rocuronium, and remifentanil have been widely accepted. To prevent aspiration pneumonia, a prolonged preoperative fasting and an application of cricoid pressure during anesthesia induction have been recommended, but these practices may require to be revised. The first guideline for difficult airway management in obstetric anesthesia has been developed. Furthermore, the use of a supraglottic airway is now recognized as an effective rescue device for failed intubation in obstetric patients. After the delivery of a fetus, switching from volatile anesthesia to intravenous anesthesia has been recommended to avoid uterine atony. At the same time, intraoperative awareness should be avoided. The incidence of persistent wound pain is higher when only general anesthesia is used during cesarean section than with regional anesthesia. It is needed to provide an adequate postoperative analgesia using a multimodal scheme. Trend: Continuous efforts are still required to improve the safety of general anesthesia in obstetric patients.
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