Does minidose bupivacaine-fentanyl spinal anesthesia reduce hypotension compared to 10 mg bupivacaine in elderly patients undergoing surgical repair of hip fracture?
A minidose of 4 mg bupivacaine with 20 microg fentanyl provides effective spinal anesthesia with significantly less hypotension than 10 mg bupivacaine in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture repair.
A "minidose" of 4 mg bupivacaine in combination with 20 microg fentanyl provides spinal anesthesia for surgical repair of hip fracture in the elderly. The minidose combination caused dramatically less hypotension than 10 mg bupivacaine and nearly eliminated the need for vasopressor support of blood pressure.
Ben-David et al. (2000) studied this question.