Ophthalmological disorders after spinal anesthesia

Abstract

Background & Objective: Spinal anesthesia (SA) administered for non–ophthalmic operative surgeries has been associated with ophthalmological disorders in up to 0.2% cases. However, the incidence of medical lawsuits related to these issues amounts to 2–3%, which suggests a probable higher frequency of such violations.

This study was conducted to find the nature of ophthalmological disorders during SA and risk factors for their development during non–ophthalmic surgical interventions.

 Methodology: A prospective cohort non–intervention study was carried out in 150 adult patients undergone non–ophthalmic surgical interventions under SA for analysis of state of the visual organs during SA.

Results: Ophthalmological disorders after SA were recorded in 6.7% of the patients. These disorders were of a transient nature and were no threat to the development of life–threatening dysfunctions or persistent disablement. They were directly related to the level of systemic arterial pressure. A correlation analysis demonstrated the presence of relation between the reduction in ophthalmotonus and perfusion pressure of the eyes and the administration of 0.5% bupivacaine (R = 0.7, p = 0.01).

Conclusion: The results of our study prove that the individuals with prior visual organ disorders are expected to have a relatively high incidence of ophthalmological complications after spinal anesthesia, requiring the individualization of anesthesia regimes.

Key words: Visual organs; Anesthesia, spinal; Complications

Citation: Kholod DA, Shkurupii DA. Ophthalmological disorders after spinal anesthesia. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2021;25(6):703–706; DOI: 10.35975/apic.v25i6.1696

Received: June 9, 2021, Reviewed: July 27, 2021, Accepted: August 30, 2021