Search

Arterial hypotension during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia can cause maternal and fetal adverse effects. Therefore, current guidelines recommend the continuous and preferably prophylactic use of vasopressors, emphasizing the use of alpha-agonists, such as phenylephrine. Besides a left lateral uterine displacement either an intravenous colloid preloading or a crystalloid co-loading is recommended. The blood pressure goal is to maintain a systolic arterial blood pressure of at least 90% of the initial baseline value and to avoid a drop to less than 80% of this baseline. To achieve this goal a prophylactic continuous phenylephrine infusion with an adjustable flow rate is recommended. It is advised to start with an initial dose of 25-50 µg/min, initiated immediately following the intrathecal injection of the local anesthetic and titrated according to the vital parameters. Parturients with cardiac diseases should be preoperatively evaluated following individual hemodynamic goals.

Over 1.4 million Caesarean deliveries are performed annually in the United States, out of which 30% are elective repeat procedures. Post-operative hyperalgesia is associated with an increased risk for persistent post-surgical pain; however, there are no data on whether residual scar hyperalgesia (SHA) from a previous Caesarean delivery (CD) persists until the next delivery. We hypothesized that residual SHA may be present in a substantial proportion of women and is associated with increased post-operative pain.One hundred and sixty-three women scheduled for a repeat CD under spinal anaesthesia were enrolled into the study. Mechanical temporal summation (mTS) and SHA index were measured preoperatively. SHA was considered present when the index was0. Post-operative pain scores at 12, 24 and 48 h and wound hyperalgesia (WHA) at 48 h were recorded.SHA was present in 67 women 41% with a median SHA index of 0.42 (Q (25) = 0.25; Q (75) = 1.1, range 0.03-4.25). Women with SHA had overall higher post-operative pain scores and SHA was correlated with preoperative mTS (r = 0.164, p 0.05), post-operative pain severity (r = 0.25, p 0.002) and WHA at 48 h (r = 0.608, p 0.001). Severe pain (visual analogue pain scale-S48 ≥ 7, n = 20) was predicted with a sensitivity and specificity of 60% and 62%, respectively. Positive predictive value was 18% and negative predictive value was 92%.Preoperative SHA is present in 41% of women scheduled for repeat CD and is associated with increased mTS and post-operative pain. Screening for preoperative SHA may predict women at risk for increased post-operative pain, and guide post-operative analgesia to include anti-hyperalgesic drugs.