IntroductionPostoperative sore throat is listed from the top as patients’ most undesirable outcome in the postoperative period. It is believed to originate from mucosal dehydration or edema, tracheal ischemia secondary to the pressure of endotracheal tube cuffs, aggressive oropharyngeal suctioning, and mucosal erosion from friction between delicate tissues and the endotracheal tube. Even if the problem was indicated in many literatures, it has never been studied in our country. The study aimed to assess prevalence and factors associated with postoperative sore throat among patients who were operated under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation.MethodsHospital based cross sectional study was conducted from February 25 - April 10, 2014 in Gondar University hospital. Patient interview and chart review were employed for data collection. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine the association.ResultsA total of 240 out of 299 patients were included in this study with a response rate of 80.3%. The prevalence of postoperative sore throat within 48 hours after operation was 59.6%. Factors which had association with postoperative sore throat from the multivariate logistic regression were female sex (AOR = 3.3, 95% CI: 1.07, 10.375), repeated number of attempts to intubate (AOR = 3.291, 95% CI: 1.658, 6.531), and the use of nasogastric tube (AOR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.174, 0.965) respectively.ConclusionThe prevalence of postoperative sore throat was high in Gondar University Hospital. Awareness creation about the problem should be made for health professionals and postoperative sore throat management protocol need to be introduced.

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IntroductionAnxiety was repeatedly reported as the worst aspect of the perioperative time. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of preoperative anxiety among adult surgical patients at University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UoGCSH), Northwest Ethiopia.MethodologyA hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among surgical patients at the university hospital. After obtaining ethical approval, 407 surgical patients were approached during the preoperative period. Preoperative anxiety was assessed by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The association between variables was determined by using binary logistic regression analysis. Strength of association was described in adjusted odds ratio (AOR), and a p-value < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 400 patients were included in this study with a 98.3% response rate. Preoperative anxiety was observed among 237 (59.3%) patients, and the median (IQR) STAI score was 50 (40–56.7); age, ≥ 60 years (AOR: 5.7, CI: 1.6–20.4, P: 0.007); emergency surgery (AOR: 2.5, CI: 1.3–4.7, P: 0.005); preoperative pain (AOR: 2.6, CI: 1.2–5.4, P: 0.005); and rural residency (AOR: 1.8, CI: 1.1–2.9, P: 0.031) were found significantly associated with preoperative anxiety.ConclusionThe prevalence of preoperative anxiety among surgical patients was high. Older age (≥ 60 years), emergency surgery, preoperative pain, and rural residency were found significantly associated with preoperative anxiety. Assessment for preoperative anxiety should be a routine component of preoperative assessment of both elective and emergency surgical patients. Preoperative pain should be appropriately managed as it can help to reduce preoperative anxiety. Optimal anxiety reduction methods should be investigated and implemented in the hospital.

Background: Pain during cesarean section is a common phenomenon which results release of stress hormone during surgery. In contrast, effective analgesia may permit improved mother-child bonding, early ambulation, discharge, greater patient satisfaction and early breastfeeding. Now a days the use of intrathecal fentanyl as multimodal analgesia became a popular technique for cesarean section, because of synergistic effect with local anaesthetic and intensify sensory block without increasing sympathetic block. This study aimed to assess postoperative analgesic effect of intrathecal fentanyl as an adjuvant to spinal anaesthesia in comparison with spinal anaesthesia with bupivacaine only among laboring mothers who undergone emergency cesarean delivery.

Background: The mode of delivery influences breastfeeding practice. Moreover, cesarean deliveries under anesthesia-related risk factors affect the timing of breastfeeding initiation compared to vaginal deliveries. In addition, high rates of cesarean section (CS) deliveries and low breastfeeding rates are important public health concerns for all developing countries. Objective: This study aimed to determine the timely initiation of breastfeeding and its factors among women delivered via CS under spinal anesthesia. Methods: Institutional-based cross-sectional study was employed among 422 systematically selected mothers from April to June 2021. Data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Data entry and analysis were done using Epi Data and Stata version 14.0. Binary logistic regressions were computed to identify factors. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to declare statistical significance. Results: Delayed initiation of breastfeeding (DIBF) was 41.8%. Mothers who had an emergency CS (AOR =2.13, 95% CI [1.21–3.75]), had less than four antenatal care (ANC) follow-ups (AOR=1.77, 95% CI [1.02–3.13]), had moderate to severe pain during the perioperative period (AOR=2.65, 95% CI [1.24–5.54]), primipara (AOR=1.89; 95% CI [1.20–3.25]), used intraoperative opioid medications (AOR=1.86; 95% CI [1.01–3.30]), and had no skin-to-skin contact (AOR=2.1, 95% CI [1.27–3.51]) were associated with DIBF. Conclusion and recommendation: DIBF after cesarean delivery was high. Emergency CS, less than four ANC visits, immediate postoperative pain, and lack of skin-to-skin contact were factors associated with delayed breastfeeding. Health care providers, especially anesthetists, in the operation theater, should implement multimodal analgesics and minimize opioid consumption. Moreover, they should keep the newborn in skin-to-skin contact to initiate breastfeeding in the operation theater soon after birth.