A randomized controlled study investigating incidence of hypotension during caesarean section under subarachnoid block with prophylactic prevention in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria

Background: Maternal hypotension is a common complication of spinal anaesthesia for caesarean delivery. The
objective of this study was to assess a randomized controlled study investigating incidence of hypotension during
caesarean section under subarachnoid block with prophylactic prevention in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria.
Methods: This was a prospective, randomized double blind clinical study. Patients were randomized into three
groups: Ondansetron (O) Ephedrine (E) or Normal Saline (NS). Group O received ondansetron 10 mg in 10ml
saline; Group E received ephedrine 10mg in 10ml saline, while group NS received normal saline 10ml. All study
drugs were given intravenously 5 minutes before spinal puncture. Data was analyzed using SPSS 25. The
significance level was set as p< 0.05. Result : There was no significant difference in the 3 groups in terms of age (p
= 0.077), weight (p = 0.677), height (p = 0.949), BMI (p = 0.307), ASA (p = 0.092) and educational status (p =
0.841). The difference in the incidence of hypotension between the 3 groups was highly significant (p = 0.000), but
was comparable between ephedrine and ondansetron groups (p > 0.05). The severity of hypotension was more in the control group compared to the ephedrine and ondansetron groups, and the difference was highly significant (20%,
2.2% and 4.4% respectively, p = 0.000). Discussion and Conclusion: The study showed that ephedrine and
ondansetron are comparable when used as prophylaxis for prevention of spinal anaesthesia induced hypotension
during caesarean delivery.