Incidence of hypotension induced by spinal anesthesia with xylocaine for cesarean section and postpartum tubal ligation.

The incidence of hypotension induced by spinal anesthesia in 154 ASA class I or II patients having Cesarean section and postpartum bilateral tubal ligation was studied. Xylocaine (2%) 60-65 mg was used for spinal anesthesia. There was 41.0% of patients in Cesarean section group developed hypotension induced by spinal anesthesia, and 13.5% in tubal ligation group. We found no correlation between the time after delivery and the occurrence of hypotension induced by spinal anesthesia. In addition, 20.3% of the patients in tubal ligation group required intravenous narcotics because of inadequate sensory blockade during skin incision, but only 9.0% in Cesarean section needed the same supplement which was due to visceral pain during intra-abdominal manipulation. We conclude that spinal anesthesia with 2% xylocaine is safe and effective in both Cesarean section and postpartum tubal ligation although a significant difference of spinal hypotension existed.