Morphometric study of Sacral Hiatus and it's clinical significance in Coastal Odisha population.

Background: Anatomical variations of Sacral hiatus play a pivotal role in Caudal epidural block (CEB) anaesthesia injections. Hence correct Anatomical location of the hiatus is vital during successful CEB. The present study was undertaken to dissect out the morphometric variations of sacral hiatus among young adult Odisha population. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with 101 normal, dry human sacrum bones for multiple metric and non-metric analysis. Digital vernier calliper was used for metric study including measure sacral dimensions like anteroposterior diameter, transverse diameter, length of sacral hiatus and distance between the apex to mid-point of an imaginary line joining both S2 foramina, distance between mid-point of base to the midpoint of an imaginary line joining both S2 foramina, distance between apex to the highest point of right-side lateral crest/superolateral crest which corresponds to right side posterior superior iliac spine, distance between apex to the highest point of left side lateral crest/superolateral crest which corresponds to left side posterior superior iliac spine and distance between right and left superolateral sacral crest. Results: The mean length of Sacral Hiatus was 22.36 ± 8.61 mm. The mean transverse diameter of Sacral Hiatus was 15.40 ± 2.17mm. The mean antero-posterior diameter of sacral hiatus at apex was 5.19 ± 1.36 mm. Inverted U shape was most common. Most common level of apex of sacral hiatus with respect to sacral vertebra had been 4th Sacral vertebra and most common location of base of sacral hiatus in relation to the level of sacral/coccygeal vertebra had been found to be 5th Sacral vertebra. Summary and conclusion: The anatomical knowledge of multiple metric and non-metric variations of sacral hiatus are important in CEB anesthesia contributing to improved success of the procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]