title: Hypotension in the Right Lateral Position Secondary to Inferior Vena Cava Abnormality.
abstract: Surgical positioning is accompanied by numerous anesthetic considerations, particularly its potential effects on the cardiovascular, respiratory, and nervous systems. Clinical studies have shown that lateral positioning does not affect hemodynamics; however, with the addition of trunk flexion, there is a decrease in cardiac output, which may be secondary to caval compression. In this report, we describe a unique case of hypotension that arose in a patient positioned only in the right lateral decubitus position with flexion and that was exacerbated by an abnormally narrow inferior vena cava.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of *Anesthesia and †Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Meredith J H
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hutton
authors.forename: Ganesh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Swamy
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinkaruk
authors.forename: Kaylene
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Duttchen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002302:Cardiac Output; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007022:Hypotension / Q000209:etiology*; D056888:Patient Positioning; D054079:Vascular Malformations / Q000150:complications; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000002:abnormalities*