Comparison the effect of ephedrine and phenylephrine in treatment of hypotension after spinal anesthesia during cesarean section

Abstract

Background and Objective: The effectiveness of ephe-drine and/or phenylephrine, in treatment of hypoten-sion secondary to spinal anesthesia for cesarean sec-tion and their effects on fetal/neonatal outcome were studied. Methods and Materials: Sixty healthy partu-rients were randomly assigned to two groups; group E (n = 33) received boluses 5 mg/ml increments ephedrine and group P (n = 27) received a boluses of phenylephrine 100 µg/ml increments for treatment of hypotension after spinal block during cesarean sec-tion. Changes in maternal blood pressure and heart rate, and incidence of nausea-vomiting, neonatal Ap-gar score at 1 and 5 minutes of delivery, and umbili-cal arterial blood gas values were recorded. Results: There were no differences in treatment of hypoten-sion following sympathectomy after spinal block with two drugs. Neonatal outcome was similar in two groups. There were not significant differences in um-bilical arterial values in two groups. Conclusion: Ephedrine and phenylephrine are both effective vaso-pressores for treatment of hypotension associated to spinal block during cesarean section without adverse effects on infants/neonates.