Spinal anesthesia for lower segment Cesarean section in patients with stable eclampsia.

Study Objective: To report the use of spinal anesthesia in stable eclamptic patients.

Design: Prospective case series.

Setting: Emergency operating room of a metropolitan hospital.

Patients: 12 "stable" eclamptic parturients.

Interventions: Subarachnoid block was instituted with hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine 1.7 mL with fentanyl 25 μg.

Measurements: Intraoperative maternal hypotension, episodes of convulsion, the need to convert to general anesthesia, and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes were recorded.

Main Results: Only one of the 12 parturients had an episode of hypotension (treated by intravenous ephedrine), while no patient had a convulsion over the 48 hours after delivery. The sensory level achieved was T₅-T₆ and none of the cases was converted to general anesthesia. Median Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes were 8 and 9, respectively.

Conclusion: Spinal anesthesia avoided the known risks of general anesthesia and was not associated with any major complications.