Effect of 24 hours Hospital Discharge Versus 48 hours Discharge after a Planned Cesarean Delivery on Postpartum Outcomes; A Randomized Single-Blind Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objective: To determine the comparative effect of 24 hours discharge versus 48 hours discharge post cesarean section delivery on maternal satisfaction as well as post-partum complication.

Methodology: This randomized controlled trial study was conducted in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital, Muzaffargarh from December 2023 to May 2024. Women aged 18 to 35 years undergoing elective cesarean section with a singleton pregnancy, regardless of parity or gravidity, were included and were randomly assigned into two groups particularly as Group A included 106 women discharged 24 hours after cesarean section, while Group B included 106 women discharged 48 hours after cesarean section. Patients were assessed pain intensity, surgical site infection, puerperal sepsis, endometritis, readmission, delayed postpartum hemorrhage and satisfaction of the patients and at the 7^th postoperative day. Relevant data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0.

Results: Mean age of patients was almost similar in both groups (27.16 ± 6.29 years in Group A and 26.63 ± 6.04 years in Group B). Patients in Group A showed significantly higher early mobility (92.5% vs. 77.4%, p = 0.002) and overall maternal satisfaction (86.8% very satisfied vs. 64.2% in Group B, p = 0.001). Moderate pain was more frequent in Group A (91.5%), whereas severe pain was higher in Group B (22.6%). Additionally the postpartum complications were low and not statistically significant between the groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Early discharge 24 hours proved to be safe and effective, resulting in higher early mobility, less severe pain and significantly greater maternal satisfaction compared to 48-hour discharge, without increasing postoperative complications; however, further multicenter studies are needed to validate these findings.