English

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Preferred technique of anesthesia for caesarean section is spinal anesthesia and the commonest complication of this technique is hypotension. Because hypotension is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in the fetus as well as in the mother, several modalities have been recommended to bring down its incidence. Volume preloading 15-20min before spinal anesthesia is commonly practiced one. Among the different fluids available, commonly used for preloading are crystalloids and colloids. Many studies have been done to evaluate the efficacy of different fluids for preloading. Many investigators have found that colloids are superior to crystalloids for preloading. In this context, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that colloid preloading is associated with less hypotension than crystalloid preloading. AIM: To compare the efficacy of RL with Pentastarch 6% as preloading fluid in prevention of spinal induced hypotension in caesarean section patients. METHODOLOGY: Two groups, group I and group II comprising of 30 parturients each, belonging to ASA I and ASA II coming for elective caesarean section under spinal anesthesia were selected. Parturients in group I were preloaded with 1L of Ringer's lactate solution whereas those in group II were preloaded with 500 ml of Pentastarch 6% solution. After institution of spinal anesthesia with 2 ml-2.2ml of hyperbaric Bupivacaine using 25G Quincke's needle, patient's blood pressure and other vital parameters were monitored intraoperatively every 2 min for first 20 min and then every 5 min till the end of surgery and results were subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Parturients who were preloaded with Pentastarch 6% had less hypotension than those preloaded with RL. We concluded that colloids are better preloading agents than crystalloids for control of spinal induced hypotension in caesarean section patients.