Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Obesity in the pregnant woman is considered a high-risk state because it is associated with many short-term and long-term complications. Compared with normal weight patients, obese women have a higher prevalence of infertility, a higher rate of early miscarriage and more congenital abnormalities such as neural tube defects. Aim: The current study was planned to study the efficacy of regional anesthesia for regional anesthesia in pregnant obese women. Materials and method: The present study was conducted in the department of anesthesiology of the medical institute. We retrospectively viewed the medical records of obese pregnant female patients who underwent cesarean sections at the Obstetric Center of the medical institute. A total 0f 26 patient’s medical records were reviewed for the study. The demographic data of the patients such as age, weight, height, BMI, ASA status of patient, difficulty experienced in spinal puncture and anesthetic complications was recorded. The statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS (version 20.0) for windows. Results: The mean age of the patients was 28.2+9.32 years, mean weight was 72.3 + 6.8 kg, mean height was 1.58+3.9 m and mean BMI was 38.28+8.24 kg/m2. The maximum number of patients belonged to ASA II physical status (n=16) whereas minimum patients belonged to ASA IV physical status (n=1). Similarly, maximum number of patients belonged to obesity class 2 and minimum to class 1. The maximum mean operative time was seen in patients with Class 3 obesity. Conclusion: Pregnant obese women are more prone to operative difficulties. mean operative time is increased in obese pregnant women and also, rate of complications is more in patients with BMI < 40 kg/m2 .
Key words: Regional anesthesia, caesarean section, obese, pregnant women.