SQUATTING POSITION VERSUS HAMSTRING STRETCH POSITION FOR EASE OF INDUCTION OF SPINAL ANAESTHESIA: RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

Background: The position of a patient is one of the major factor contributing to the success of neuraxial block. Poor positioning may cause repeated spinal needle insertion and increase the risk of back pain, post dural puncture headache, hematoma and neural trauma. Aim: To compare the Squatting position versus hamstring stretch position for ease of induction of spinal anaesthesia. Methods:  A profile of 80 patients with ASA class 1 or 2 young (Age between 18-60years) was selected who were scheduled for surgical procedures under spinal anaesthesia in the Department of Anesthesiology Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Mullana, Ambala after the institutional ethical committee approval and written, informed consent from the patient were included in this randomized clinical trial. Results: Both groups were comparable with regard to demographic details Both groups have similar frequency and percentage of patients, and the (p-value >0.05).  There was a statistically significant difference in Group A and statistically no significant difference was observed in Group B in terms of the ease of identifying intervertebral space. In Group A, ease of identifying intervertebral space in 82% of patients  was found to be easy and in 18% it was found to be difficult, while in Group B, 72% found was easy and 28% found was difficult. In Group A number of times needle bone contact seen was easy in 65% of patients whereas in Group B number of times needle bone contact seen easy was 42%. It tells us that Group A position ( Squatting Position ) is better than Group B position (Hamstring Stretch Position ).  Conclusion: Our study's results suggest that adopting the squatting position is more effective than the hamstring stretch position when it comes to identifying intervertebral space, reducing the frequency of needle-bone contact, and ensuring greater patient comfort.