Effect of prophylactic ephedrine infusion on hemodynamic changes in the elderly undergoing spinal anesthesia

Abstract

Spanish anesthesia can cause complications such as hypotension and heart rate, which are more common in elderly patients and can lead to unwanted and irreversible cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurological complications. Finding a way to minimize these complications can greatly help improve the services provided to this age group; Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ephedrine infusion on hemodynamic changes in the elderly under spinal anesthesia. Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial without blindness which was performed during 2009-2010 with the participation of 100 elderly candidates for spinal anesthesia at Imam Reza Hospital (Tabriz University of Medical Sciences). They were randomly assigned to two groups of control (50 people) and intervention (50 people). After receiving 500 ml of serum, their hemodynamic status was recorded and they were anesthetized in a sitting position with marcaine. Then the intervention group received 1 mg of ephedrine per minute as an infusion and the control group received 1 ml of normal saline as an infusion per minute. Patients' hemodynamic status (arterial oxygen saturation, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate) was recorded during surgery and compared between the two groups. Data were collected in SPSS Ver22 software and compared with t-test and Mann-Whitney U tests with a mean level of alpha of less than 0.05. Results: The study of hemodynamic status and the need for antihypertensive drugs before the intervention showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups, while in the intervention group the changes during anesthesia were not significantly different, but in the control group changes in hemodynamic status Significance was associated with a decrease; Significant differences were also observed between the two groups at different measurement times between the two groups, indicating the effectiveness of preventive administration of ephedrine in preventing changes in hemodynamic status.