Article: PDF OnlyThe Effect of Trimethaphan-Induced Hypotension on Canine Spinal Cord Blood Flow Measurement at Different Cord Levels Using Radiolabeiled MicrospheresWILTON, NIALL C. T. MRCP (UK), FFARCS; TAIT, ALAN R. PhD; KLING, THOMAS F. JR. MD; KNIGHT, PAUL R. MD, PhD Author Information From the Anesthesiology Research Laboratories, Department of Anesthesiology and Section of Orthopedic surgery, The University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Spine: May 1988 - Volume 13 - Issue 5 - p 490-493 Buy Abstract Controlled hypotension which is used during scoliosis surgery to improve operating conditions and minimize transfusion requirements may decrease spinal cord blood flow (SCBF). Previous studies using hydrogen washout, an invasive technique, have shown that trimethaphan-induced hypotension is associated with a decrease in SCBF, whereas hypotension induced with sodium nitro-prusside or nitroglycerin is riot. To determine whether the decrease seen with trimethaphan represented a generalized rather than regional spinal cord phenomenon, SCBF was measured at three separate cord levels (T2–3, 7–8, L2–3) using a noninvasive radionuclide-labelled micro-sphere technique. When the mean arterial pressure was reduced by 50%, SCBF decreased 35 to 45% at all levels of the cord examined, and remained at this reduced level during the period of hypotension. The results confirm that trimethaphan-induced hypotension is associated with a significant reduction in SCBF and that this occurs throughout the spinal cord during the period of hypotension. © Lippincott-Raven Publishers.
