Introduction: Identifying alternative analgesic adjuvants for cesarean section spinal anesthetics is growing in popularity and necessity. Due to narcotic shortages and post operative monitoring limitations, one community hospital began routinely adding 10ug of intrathecal dexmedetomidine to their cesarean spinal anesthetics. This retrospective study compares patient’s post operative pain, opioid consumption and hypotension between patients who received hyperbaric bupivacaine only and those who received bupivacaine and 10ug intrathecal dexmedetomidine over the course of two years.  

Methods: IRB approval was obtained for this retrospective study. All women 18 and older delivered via cesarean section for the two years spanning the introduction of intrathecal dexmedetomidine were eligible for inclusion. See Figure 1 for exclusion criteria. The primary outcome measured was VAS postoperative pain scores. Secondary outcomes included morphine milligram equivalents (MME), intraoperative mean arterial pressure (MAP), and postoperative mean arterial pressure (MAP).

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