Retrospective Analysis Of Anesthesia For Delivery In Pregnant Women With Spinal Cord Injury

Objective:Autonomic dysreflexia(AD), one of the common complications of delivery among pregnant women with spinal cord injury (SCI)at T6level or above, may threaten their lives without prompt treatment. Anesthesia as an effective measure to prevent and treat autonomic dysreflexia has not been taken seriously through it works well in some paraplegic women during delivery. By combining34successful delivery cases reported about pregnant women with spinal cord injury,We studied the beneficial effects of anesthesia on autonomic dysreflexia during labor in paraplegic pregnant women.Methods:Thirty-four pregnant women with spinal cord injury were divided into two groups according to first delivery choice:vaginal delivery group(n=20) and cesarean section group (n=14). The incidence of AD was compared not only between two groups but also in each group according to whether anesthesia or not.Results:1. The incidence of AD during vaginal delivery in pregnant women with spinal cord injury was60%:11of13(85%)paraplegic women without anesthesia appeared AD in contrast to1of7(14%)who accepted epidural anesthesia.2. The incidence of AD during cesarean section in pregnant women with spinal cord injury was29%:paraplegic women without perfect anesthesia (2of3,67%) seemed more likely to occur AD than that who taked intrathecal anesthesia or general anesthesia (2of11,18%). Conclusions:1. The incidence of AD during cesarean section is lower than that of vaginal delivery.2. Intrathecal anesthesia as well as general anesthesia can reduce the happening of the AD during delivery.