Low-dose spinal anesthesia for cesarean section to prevent spinal-induced hypotension.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Low-dose combined spinal epidural (CSE) anesthesia is a common technique to anesthetize women for cesarean section. It is used to reduce the incidence of hypotension while providing excellent anesthetic conditions.

RECENT FINDINGS

Low spinal doses produce effective anesthesia but of limited duration. Therefore, an epidural catheter (and thus CSE) is required to guarantee pain-free surgery. Recent work confirmed that lower spinal doses can reduce significantly hypotension.

SUMMARY

Low-dose CSE is a valuable strategy to anesthetize pregnant women for cesarean section but requires attention and training.