Role of Minimal Dose of Norepinephrine in Prevention of Hypotension Induced by Subarachnoid Anesthesia in Elective Cesarean Section

Background Maternal hypotension is a common complication after spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery. Spinal anesthesia techniques produce hypotension through blockade of sympathetic nerve fibers which control vascular smooth muscle tone. For elective cesarean section, regional anesthesia is preferred as a technique to general anesthesia because of maternal and fetal show a risk to morbidity and mortality. Spinal anesthesia for cesarean section allows the mother to be awake, minimizes or completely avoids the problem of maternal aspiration, and avoids neonatal drug depression from general anesthetics. Aim of the Work The aim of this study to assess the effectiveness of minimal dose of norepinephrine in preventing the episodes of hypotension that follow subarachnoid anesthesia in elective cesarean section. Patients and Methods The study was conducted on 60 randomly chosen patients full filling the inclusion criteria at Ain-Shams university hospitals after approval of medical committee. They were allocated in two groups of 30 patients each: Group (A) received the minimal dose of norepinephrine (25 nanogram/kg/h). Group (B) didn’t receive an infusion with vasopressor. Results The patients in the study group (A) had less events of hypotension 10% compared to 76% in group (B) and less Tachycardia in group (A) with only 3.3% compared to group (B) which were 70%. Although no statistical difference in all other parameters measured in this study. Conclusion Our study suggests that the use of norepinephrine as a vasopressor in the treatment of subarachnoid induced hypotension is safe and effective.