International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Apr 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA comparison of the haemodynamic effects of lateral and sitting positions during induction of spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section.
Hypotension during spinal anaesthesia occurs commonly in parturients. By influencing spread of local anaesthetic, maternal position may affect the speed of onset of sensory block and thus the haemodynamic effects. The aim of this study was to determine whether inducing spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section using plain bupivacaine in the lateral position would result in less hypotension compared with the sitting position. ⋯ Hypotension occurred less frequently when spinal anaesthesia for caesarean using plain bupivacaine was induced with patients in the lateral compared with the sitting position. Values for the lowest recorded mean arterial pressure were greater but values for the lowest recorded systolic blood pressure were similar for patients in the lateral position group.