Perfusion Index From Upper Limb as a Tool in the Prediction of Spinal Anaesthesia Induced Hypotension During Caesarean Delivery

Background: Hypotension following spinal anaesthesia during elective caesarean commonly seen either due to decreased in vascular tone or decreased cardiac output because of blood pooling. Peripheral perfusion index (PI) being a non-invasive measure of real time change in peripheral blood flow can be a dynamic measure in prediction of hypotension. This is a prospective study done in Assam Medical college and hospital recruiting 100 Methodology: parturient based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were divided into two groups with 50 parturient in each group with baseline PI>3.5 and <3.5 respectively. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS. Statistical significance was fixed at 5% level (p value <0.05). Majority of parturient were less than 25years of age, less than 160cms Results: in height and weight less than 65kgs in both groups. No statistical significance observed between the study groups in terms of duration of surgery. The incidences of Hypotension in Group I (PI > 3.5) was 54% compared to Group II (PI ≤ 3.5) which was 13% and was highly statistically significant (p=0.001). Parturient with a baseline PI >3.5 were Conclusion: at higher risk of developing hypotension compared to those with a baseline PI ≤ 3.5 following spinal anaesthesia. Thus, preoperative baseline PI can be used as a predictive tool for hypotension.