ABSTRACT

Background: Post spinal anesthesia hypotension is more common in pregnant scheduled for ceserean section and associated with adverse effect on mother and fetus. Objective: The following non-blinded randomized controlled trial sought to find out whether a height-adjusted dose of hyperbaric bupivacaine provides effective spinal anesthesia without the use of preloading substances and with the least associated complications during cesarean section. Method: patients with ASA classification II who were scheduled for cesarean section under spinal anesthesia in Duhok hospitals were selected and divided based on their height groups. Patients with heights between 150-159 were randomly allocated into Group F (who were given a fixed 11 mg dose of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine intrathecally) and Group H1 (who received a height-adjusted dose of 0.5% intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine based on a minimum height-adjusted dose of 0.065 mg/cm height). Each group was then evaluated based on a set of predetermined parameters (Sensory level, Brombage scale, Atropine, etc..), most importantly the extent and incidence of hypotension. Results: The findings indicate that a height-adjusted dose provides an adequate block with minimal associated complications and is more effective than a fixed dose in preventing post-spinal-anesthesia hypotension. Conclusion: Using of height adjusted dose of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine was sufficient to achieve efficient sensory and motor block with minimal complications during ceserean section under spinal anesthesia.