ABSTRACT
STUDY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a slower speed of spinal anaesthesia injection would reduce the incidence of hypotension. STUDY DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Tertiary level hospital in Malaysia. PATIENTS: 77 patients undergoing elective Caesarean delivery. INTERVENTION: Differing speeds of spinal injection. MEASUREMENTS: Systolic blood pressure was assessed every minute for the first 10min and incidence of hypotension (reduction in blood pressure of >30% of baseline) was recorded. The use of vasopressor and occurrence of nausea/vomiting were also recorded. MAIN RESULTS: 36 patients in SLOW group and 41 patients in FAST group were recruited into the study. There was no significant difference in blood pressure drop of >30% (p=0.497) between the two groups. There was no difference in the amount of vasopressor used and incidence of nausea/vomiting in both groups. CONCLUSION: In our study population, there was no difference in incidence of hypotension and nausea/vomiting when spinal injection time is prolonged beyond 15s to 60s. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.govNCT02275897. Registered on 15 October 2014.
