Preeclampsia, which affects 5% to 7% of parturients, is a significant cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Because of constricted myometrial spiral arteries with exaggerated vasomotor responsiveness, though blood pressure in parturients with preeclampsia are apparently higher than healthy parturients, placental hypoperfusion is more common. Spinal anesthesia is still the preferred mode of anesthesia in parturients with preeclampsia for cesarean section. In preeclampsia parturients, spinal anesthesia improve intervillous blood flow (provided that hypotension is avoided) which contribute to increase placental perfusion. Even so, 17-26% parturients with preeclampsia experienced postspinal anesthesia hypotension due to the extensive sympathetic block that occurred with spinal anesthesia. As a potential substitute drug for phenylephrine and ephedrine, norepinephrine has gained traction for use in parturients undergoing cesarean section. However, hemodynamic effects of the prophylactic norepinephrine infusion is still unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the maternal cardiac output response to prophylactic norepinephrine and phenylephrine infusion for postspinal anesthesia hypotension in parturients with preeclampsia undergoing cesarean section.
