European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

The relationship between Post-Dural puncture headache (PDPH) and body mass index (BMI) in individuals who have just given birth has been the subject of contentious studies in the past. As a result, we decided to survey this complication in a group of patients who had cesarean sections performed under spinal anesthesia. It was predicted that people with greater BMIs would experience PDPH less frequently.The demographic data was retrieved and documented after looking over the patient files and phoning the patients. Additionally, a headache score based on a 0–10 verbal numeric rating scale (NRS) and the development of PDPH up to three days after a cesarean section in the present delivery were documented.At the Kakatiya Medical College in Warangal, 76 women who had undergone spinal anesthesia for a cesarean section participated in this study (March 2021 to February 2022). The subjects ranged in age from 20 to 40 years old (28.24 ± 3.27). The average BMI (kg/m2) before a cesarean section was 30.21 ± 2.82. 38 (50%) of the 76 parturient patients were not obese, and the remaining (50%) were (BMI > 30 kg/m2); 97.90% were non-smokers, and 92 percent had no prior history of PDPH during the previous neuro-axial anesthesia/analgesia. Only 13 participants (17.10 %) in this study experienced headaches following the current spinal anesthetic. 31 patients (81.57%) and 32 patients (84.21%) of the patients who did not develop PDPH had BMIs below 30 and over 30 respectively (P = 0.386). We concluded that increased BMI at the time of cesarean section decreased the incidence of PDPH. Increased BMI lowers the risk of PDPH because obese patients' increased intra-abdominal pressure reduces CSF leakage from the dural puncture point. Additionally, this study demonstrated that neither BMI nor weight gain during pregnancy, nor any other characteristics looked at, had a significant impact on the severity of PDPH.