SPINAL ANESTHESIA: BEYOND A SINGLE DOSE OF HYPERBARIC BUPIVACAINE IN ACHIEVING SENSORY BLOCKADE
Spinal anaesthesia is a widely employed technique for lower-body surgeries due to its reliability in providing sensory, autonomic, and motor nerve blockade. However, predicting the sensory block height remains complex, influenced by patient demographics, anaesthetic dose, and procedural factors. This retrospective study, conducted at Mamata Medical College, Rotary Nagar, Khammam, Telangana, India (2019–2022), aimed to identify factors associated with sensory block levels and develop a predictive model for dermatomal block height using hyperbaric bupivacaine. The study included 103 non-pregnant patients aged 20–50 years undergoing lower-body surgeries. Key variables, including patient height, weight, sex, age, and anaesthetic dose, were analysed using simple and multiple regression. The mean peak block height was 16 segments from S5 (T7), with a mean hyperbaric bupivacaine dose of 9 mg. Hyperbaric bupivacaine dosage, shorter height, higher weight, female sex, and older age significantly influenced sensory block height, explaining 70% of the variance. The predictive model demonstrated high accuracy, supporting its clinical utility in tailoring anaesthetic doses. These findings highlight the critical role of easily accessible patient variables and dosage adjustments in achieving optimal anaesthesia levels. Further studies are needed to validate these results and explore additional determinants such as spinal anatomy and CSF volume.