Variant angina, which is associated with coronary artery spam, is difficult to
recognize on routine preoperative evaluation. Coronary spasm results in
myocardial ischemia and even lethal arrhythmia in severe cases. Since patients
are unconscious and cannot complain of symptoms during general anesthesia, early
detection of such an event is difficult, and it could lead to severe bradycardia
or cardiac arrest. We report a case of a patient with previously undiagnosed
variant angina who experienced severe hypotension and ventricular fibrillation
during general anesthesia.
Maternal hypotension is a common problem during cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. We evaluated the influence of injection speed of local anesthetic to subarachnoid space on maternal hypotension and level of sensory block.
Methods
Bupivacaine (0.5%) 9 mg with fentanyl 10 µg was injected to subarachnoid space either quickly (during 20 seconds, 0.1 mL/sec, n=20) or slowly (during 100 seconds, 0.02 mL/sec, n=20) in parturients scheduled for elective cesarean section. The onset and level of sensory block was checked and heart rate and blood pressure was checked by 2.5 minutes during 20 minutes. Hypotension (systolic blood pressure <100 mmHg or <70% of baseline) was treated with ephedrine.
Results
Hypotension occurred 70% of parturients with spinal anesthesia. Slow injection didn't influence on the onset and level of sensory block and didn't reduce the incidence of hypotension. But onset of hypotension was delayed.
Conclusion
Slow injection (during 100 seconds, 0.02 mL/sec) of local anesthetic delayed onset of hypotension and required less amount of ephedrine. Slow injection of local anesthetic was one of the effective methods for the cardiovascular stability during cesarean section under spinal anesthesia.