Epidural volume extension in combined spinal epidural anaesthesia for elective caesarean section: a randomised controlled trial

Summary We investigated the effect of epidural volume extension on spinal blockade in pregnant women undergoing elective caesarean section with a combined spinal‐epidural technique. We randomly allocated 90 healthy subjects to three groups to receive spinal hyperbaric bupivacaine 7.5 mg (group B7.5), spinal hyperbaric bupivacaine 7.5 mg immediately followed by epidural volume extension with saline 5 ml (group B7.5‐EVE) or spinal hyperbaric bupivacaine 10 mg without epidural volume extension (group B10). We evaluated the height of the block every 5 min for 15 min following the spinal injection. The overall sensory block level increased with time (p