PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Younes Aissaoui
AU  - M Bahi
AU  - A El Khader
AU  - R El Barni
AU  - A Belhadj
TI  - Thoracic spinal anaesthesia for abdominal surgery in a humanitarian military field hospital: a prospective observational study
AID  - 10.1136/bmjmilitary-2022-002075
DP  - 2024 Feb 01
TA  - BMJ Military Health
PG  - 26--30
VI  - 170
IP  - 1
4099  - http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/170/1/26.short
4100  - http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/170/1/26.full
SO  - BMJ Mil Health2024 Feb 01; 170
AB  - Background Providing safe and effective anaesthesia in the context of humanitarian medicine is always a challenging situation. Spinal anaesthesia, and in particular its thoracic approach, represents a promising technique for such a limited-resource environment. This prospective observational study investigated the feasibility of thoracic spinal anaesthesia (TSA) for abdominal surgery in a field-deployed military hospital.Materials and methods We included adults scheduled for elective open cholecystectomy in a field hospital. Patients received TSA at the T9–T10 level. The primary outcomes were the feasibility of surgery under TSA and the haemodynamic/respiratory stability of this anaesthetic technique. The secondary outcomes included patient satisfaction and surgeon comfort regarding the anaesthesia technique and postoperative events (nausea and vomiting, urinary retention, postdural puncture headache).Results Surgery was performed successfully in 61 patients under TSA (90% female, 53±13 years old). Intraoperative pain scores were low, with a median Numeric Rating Scale score of 0 (IQR 0–2). Surgeon and patient satisfaction scores were excellent. The haemodynamic and respiratory parameters remained stable throughout the surgery. The incidence of postoperative events was low (nausea/vomiting=8%). None of our patients presented with postdural puncture headache or urinary retention.Conclusion TSA could be an effective anaesthetic technique for abdominal surgery in the context of a field hospital or austere environment.Data are available upon reasonable request.