Segmental levels of anaesthesia following the extradural injection of 0.75% bupivacaine at different lumbar spaces in elderly patients.

Overview

Segmental anaesthesia levels were determined in 80 elderly patients following the extradural injection of 0.75% bupivacaine 15 ml at four separate lumbar interspaces. Mean levels were T11 in the L5-S1 group, T7 in the L4-5, T5 in L3-4 and T3 in the L2-3 group (P less than 0.001). Varying the lumbar interspace at which the extradural anaesthesia is performed is recommended as a means of adjusting the levels of anaesthesia for different surgical procedures.