Hip/Shoulder Width Ratio Alters the Spread of Spinal Anesthesia: A Prospective Observational Study

Abstract

Introduction: Many factors have been tested to predict the spread of spinal anesthesia in clinical practice. In the study, we aimed to investigate the correlation between hip/shoulder width ratio and spread of spinal anesthesia. Method: Sixty patients were enrolled in this study to determine the correlation between hip/shoulder width ratio and the spread of spinal anesthesia. The L4-L5 interspace, navigated by ultrasonography, was introduced at the lateral position with a 25G spinal needle. 3ml 0,5% hyperbaric bupivacaine was injected intrathecally in 15 seconds. Age, height, weight, body mass index, hip/shoulder width ratio, and vertebral column length were recorded. Spinal anesthesia spread was assessed at 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 minutes after spinal anesthesia. The patient was turned supine 5 minutes after intrathecal injection. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the spread of spinal anesthesia and age, height, weight, hip/shoulder width ratio, vertebral column length. Results: The study was completed without dropout and sixty participants were included in the analysis. There was a strong correlation between the spread of spinal anesthesia and hip/shoulder width ratio (r=0,766; p