Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the two different types of regional anesthesia for a cesarean section and to analyze the various perioperative and postoperative side effects related to them. Design: We retrospectively included those patients who required a cesarean section under regional anesthesia. Setting: Hospital General Plaza de la Salud from January 2021 to December 2021. Participants: A total of 202 cesarean sections were analyzed. Spinal anesthesia was used in 195 participants and epidural anesthesia in 7; both groups were then compared. Results: Perioperative results revealed that spinal anesthesia had a shorter total anesthesia time, more frequent hypotensive episodes, and a higher perioperative ephedrine administration rate. Regarding the postoperative results, the Apgar scores of the newborns recorded at one minute and at 5 minutes were similar in both groups. Conclusions: For patients who required a cesarean section under regional anesthesia, the use of spinal anesthesia led to a shorter anesthetic time, however it is associated with greater hemodynamic changes and ephedrine administration compared with epidural anesthesia.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This work was submitted and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Universidad Iberoamericana. It is led by the Dean of Research and Innovation (DEII).

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors