A Brief Insight about Continuous Spinal Anaesthesia

Abstract

Continuous Spinal anaesthesia (CSA) is the technique of producing and maintaining Spinal anaesthesia with small doses of local anaesthetic which are injected repeatedly as required into the Subarachnoid space via an indwelling catheter.Continuous spinal anaesthesia (CSA) is an infrequently used anaesthetic technique, where an intrathecal catheter (ITC) allows titrated injection of local anaesthetic into the intrathecal space to produce a subarachnoid block. Unlike single dose spinal anaesthesia (SDSA) where a fixed larger dose can result in an unpredictable block height and haemodynamic instability, titratable CSA allows lower doses to be used and the ability to extend the duration of anaesthesia if required.  Continuous Spinal anaesthesia (CSA) as an alternative to general anaesthesia for many surgical procedures is a method almost as old as the technique of Spinal anaesthesia itself. Perceived advantages of this technique include an unequivocal endpoint of catheter placement in the Subarachnoid space because CSF can be aspirated through the catheter, with assumed less incidence of PDPH, It is believed that CSF does not leak because the hole made in the Dura by the Quincke needle is sealed by the wider bore catheter