Anaesthesia
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Spinal hypotension is a common and clinically important problem during caesarean section. Current consensus recommendations for resource-rich settings suggest the use of a titrated phenylephrine infusion, in combination with fluid coloading, for prevention of maternal hypotension. In resource-limited settings, where syringe drivers are unavailable, these recommendations advise the addition of 500 μg phenylephrine to the first 1 l of intravenous fluid given after initiation of spinal anaesthesia, with additional vasopressor boluses as required. ⋯ The six highest systolic arterial pressure readings occurred in the phenylephrine infusion group (range 166-188 mmHg), and there were four instances of bradycardia (heart rate < 50 beats.min-1 ) with preserved systolic arterial pressure in each group. There were no adverse clinical sequelae, and no differences in neonatal Apgar scores in either group. The consensus recommendation for phenylephrine and fluid co-administration in resource-limited settings appears effective in preventing maternal hypotension, but at the cost of sporadic systolic hypertension.