Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Sep 2010
Review Meta AnalysisDefinitions of hypotension after spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section: literature search and application to parturients.
Spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section may cause hypotension, jeopardizing the foetus and its mother. We aimed to identify the spectrum of definitions of hypotension used in the scientific literature. In a second part, we applied these definitions to a prospective cohort in order to evaluate the effect of different definitions on the incidence of hypotension. ⋯ There is not one accepted definition of hypotension in the scientific literature. The incidence of hypotension varies depending on the chosen definition. Even minor changes of the definition cause major differences in the frequency of hypotension. This makes it difficult to compare studies on interventions to treat/prevent hypotension and probably hampers progress in this area of research.