Complications of Spinal Anaesthesia

education obstetrics anaesthesia recovery issues safety spinal Oct 23, 2023

A 25yo woman starts feeling faint and nauseated 5 minutes after administration of spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section. 🤰🏽 🤢

What’s going on? 🤔

Let’s go back a step, what is a spinal anaesthetic? 💉

A “spinal” is an injection of local anaesthetic (+/- opioid) in the fluid surrounding the spinal cord (the CSF). It provides dense motor and sensory block within minutes, and lasts around 2 hours. 🤗

At the same time as blocking the sensation and motor function, it also blocks the nerves that cause vasoconstriction. 🫤

The complications can be thought of as early and late. ⏱️👀

Early:
👉🏻 Low BP, Low HR
👉🏻 Nausea & vomiting
👉🏻 Effects of high/total spinal (see our post on high spinal)
👉🏻 Shivering
👉🏻 Itch
👉🏻 Transient hearing loss
👉🏻 Urinary retention

Late:
👉🏻 Headache (dural puncture) ~ 1%
👉🏻 Nerve damage (from direct needle trauma, infection or haematoma) ~ 1/10,000 - 1/200,000
👉🏻 Nerve disorders relating to drug error

As the anaesthetic nurse, you will often see hypotension and nausea. Management is with IV fluids and drugs that increase blood pressure! 🙌🏻

Build knowledge ✅
Improve safety ✅

Ref: https://www.nysora.com/techniques/neuraxial-and-perineuraxial-techniques/spinal-anesthesia/

Stay connected with news and updates!

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.

We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.

Want to keep learning?

Want more content like this? Check out our premium membership for exclusive content. 

Click Here for Access

 

 

Join our mailing list for free weekly educational content.

 

By entering your details you consent to receiving amazing educational materials and updates about our products and events.