• S C Kwok, W H L Teoh, and F Ithnin.
• Department of Women's Anaesthesia, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
• Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2014 Jul 1;58(6):743-50.

BackgroundWe studied the hypothesis that an equal spinal anaesthetic dose administered in the sitting position to patients undergoing post-partum tubal ligation (PPTL) and caesarean section (CS) would yield similar sensory block characteristics and analgesic efficacy.MethodsThis prospective, non-randomised trial recruited 20 women undergoing PPTL within 48 h of vaginal delivery and 20 undergoing CS. Spinal anaesthesia comprising intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine 12 mg and morphine 100 μg was administered at L3/4 with patients sitting. Our primary end point was the maximal dermatomal sensory block (to cold).ResultsBaseline demographics were comparable, but PPTL patients had greater parity, with mean ± standard deviation 17.54 ± 11.2 h from delivery to spinal anaesthesia, and shorter duration of surgery, 17.54 ± 11.2 vs. 40.3 ± 15.5 min. Similar maximal sensory blocks (to cold) were achieved in group PPTL vs. CS, T4 (T1-T5) vs. T3 (T1-T5), P = 0.104, in comparable times, 8.6 ± 2.6 vs. 7.6 ± 3.0 min, P = 0.267. PPTL patients had significantly faster two-segment block regression (70.7 ± 23.5 vs. 97.6 ± 23.9 min, P = 0.001) and to T10 (120.8 ± 35.6 vs. 145.1 ± 24.3 min, P = 0.016), with less hypotension (25% vs. 65%, P = 0.025) and phenylephrine (20.0 ± 60.6 μg vs. 120.0 ± 119.6 μg, P = 0.005).ConclusionThe same dose of hyperbaric bupivacaine 12 mg and morphine 100 μg administered in the sitting position to both PPTL and CS parturients yielded similar maximal sensory blocks, but PPTL exhibited faster block regression and less hypotension/vasopressor requirement.© 2014 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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