JOURNAL HOME CME HOME THIS MONTH PAST ISSUES ETOC COLLECTIONS AUTHORS REVIEWERS EDITORIAL BOARD FEEDBACK RSS HELP
		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hodgkinson, R. Articles by Husain, F. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hodgkinson, R. Articles by Husain, F. J.

Obesity, Gravity, and Spread of Epidural Anesthesia

Robert Hodgkinson, MA, MD^*, and Farkhanda J. Husain, MD

Departments of Anesthesiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78284. *Associate Professor. Assistant Professor.

Abstract

Epidural anesthesia was administered for cesarean section in 250 parturients using 20 ml of 0.75% bupivacaine administered at L3–4 with the patient in a sitting position for 5 minutes. Comparing the results with those obtained in a previous study in which parturients were kept horizontal at all times, it was found that the sitting position limited cephalad spread of anesthesia only in obese patients and that the decrease in spread was in proportion to the degree of obesity. The previous findings that cephalad spread is positively correlated to body mass index BMI (weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and with body weight were confirmed.

Key Words: ANESTHESIA: obstetric • ANESTHETIC TECHNIQUES, Epidural • COMPLICATIONS: obesity.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. J. Lee, Y. Jeon, Y. J. Lim, J. H. Bahk, Y. C. Kim, S. C. Lee, and C. S. Kim The Influence of Neck Flexion and Extension on the Distribution of Contrast Medium in the High Thoracic Epidural Space Anesth. Analg., June 1, 2007; 104(6): 1583 - 1586. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. A. Dunbar, P. Manikantan, and J. Philip Epidural Infusion Pressure in Degenerative Spinal Disease Before and After Epidural Steroid Therapy Anesth. Analg., February 1, 2002; 94(2): 417 - 420. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999