Five actions for five people: emergency cesarean section protocol

Objective: To evaluate an operative protocol for emergency cesarean section to improve teamwork and reduce surgical setup time. Methods sixty-six health care operators working together in the delivery ward (gynecologists, midwives, anesthesiologists) simulated an emergency scenario applying a “five actions for each operator” protocol. For each simulation, the decision to delivery interval was considered and the perception of each operator as a team worker was analyzed with specific tests. Results the “five actions for five people” protocol significantly reduces the decision to delivery interval (p < 0.001) for emergency cesarean section. Simultaneously, a simple and codified scheme improves communication among team members, avoids overlapping roles, and improves the feeling of having helped the team by each operator Conclusion the use of a standardized, simple, and immediately usable protocol improves the performance of the delivery room team in terms of the urgency and quality of the operator's participation in the event. Procedures of this type should be favored within emergency obstetric settings.