Comparison of the durations and complications of spinal anaesthesia between unilateral spinal anaesthesia and bilateral spinal anaesthesia for unilateral lower limb surgery

Abstract

Despite the advantages of spinal anaesthesia when compared to general anaesthesia, it is associated with complications such as hypotension, bradycardia, shivering and nausea. Our study is set to compare the durations and complications between unilateral and bilateral spinal anaesthesia in patients undergoing unilateral lower limb surgeries. Method: Sixty four (64) American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) 1 and 2 patients that were randomly assigned to two groups. Group U which is the unilateral spinal anaesthesia and group B which is the conventional bilateral spinal anaesthesia group to receive 2ml of 0.5% heavy bupivacaine plus 1ml of distilled water and 3ml of 0.5% heavy bupivacaine only respectively. The group U patients who had the procedure in the lateral decubitus position remained in that position for 20 minutes, while those in group B had the spinal injection in sitting position and immediately took the supine position after the injection. Results: The 64 adult patients who were randomly allocated into two groups with 32 patients each successfully had their surgeries done under the chosen technique. The mean duration of spinal anaesthesia was found to be 64±23.29 minutes and 100± 37.08 minutes in the group U and B respectively (p=0.001). There was no statistical differences in the general overall complications when the two groups were compared (p=0.03), however, on individual bases unilateral spinal anaesthesia has less complications compared to bilateral spinal anaesthesia for unilateral lower limb surgeries. Conclusion: The study showed that unilateral spinal anaesthesia with 2 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine had shorter duration of spinal anaesthesia with less complications compared to bilateral spinal anaesthesia for unilateral lower limb surgeries.