Anesth Pain Med.  2013 Jan;8(1):51-54.

Effects of carbetocin infusion on hemodynamics during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia

• Kim KO
• Park HS
• Yoon DI
• Han J
• In J
• Lee Y

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Carbetocin is a long-acting synthetic analogue of oxytocin that is used to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Cardiovascular effects of oxytocin include tachycardia and hypotension. We investigated hemodynamic changes induced by carbetocin during spinal anesthesia.
METHODS
Carbetocin 100 microg was infused over 5 min in 40 women undergoing cesarean delivery. Hemodynamic parameters were measured noninvasively using the Finometer(R) device. The hemodynamic values were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni test for multiple comparisons.
RESULTS
Statistically significant hemodynamic effects were seen with a maximal effect at about 75 seconds after infusion start compared with those of baseline: Mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased 21.6 +/- 8.8 mmHg, systemic vascular resistance (SVR) decreased 28.6 +/- 11.1% and heart rate (HR) increased 15.3 +/- 7.9 beats/min. Following the maximal effect, MAP and SVR remained almost constant at this decreased level until the end of study period. However, HR was slowly recovered after the peak, approaching the baseline value.
CONCLUSIONS
We observed that the maximal hemodynamic changes were occurred at about 75 seconds after administration of carbetocin. Therefore, careful observation is required during this early period.

Keyword

Carbetocin; Cardiovascular effects; Cesarean delivery; Postpartum hemorrhage

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia, Spinal
Arterial Pressure
Female
Heart Rate
Hemodynamics
Humans
Hypotension
Multivariate Analysis
Oxytocin
Postpartum Hemorrhage
Tachycardia
Vascular Resistance
Oxytocin