Spinal anaesthesia revisited: an evaluation of subarachnoid block in obstetrics.

A series of 442 women receiving subarachnoid block for various obstetrical procedures is described. These included caesarean section, instrumental delivery, manual removal of placenta, insertion of cervical suture and miscellaneous procedures. General anaesthesia was required in ten patients because subarachnoid block proved to be unsatisfactory. There were no serious complications. The overall headache rate, ascertained by daily direct questioning during hospital admission, was 26.2%. Clinical features of dural puncture headache (DPH) were present in 8.6% and equivocally so in a further 3.4%. A significantly higher incidence of DPH was recorded among patients receiving a cervical suture. Among the thirty-eight patients who developed DPH, a 25 or 26 SWG spinal needle had invariably been used and in most instances the procedure was described as being uneventful. There were no consistent technical features among the patients who developed DPH, although operator experience may have been a factor. DPH was graded as 'severe' in ten patients (2.3%) and an epidural blood patch was rapidly curative in each of these cases. One patient required a repeat patch. Subarachnoid block proved to be a satisfactory technique for the procedures outlined in the survey. It proved to be particularly valuable when anaesthesia was required urgently in the delivery suite and may even be regarded as the anaesthetic of choice in these circumstances.