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. Correspondence to Marc Van de Velde, MD, PhD, EDRA, Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Chair, Department of Anaesthesiology, Herestraat 49, B - 3000 Leuven, Belgium. E-mail: marc.vandevelde@uzleuven.be Copyright © 2019 YEAR Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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