Effect of dexamethasone on incidence of headache after spinal anesthesia in cesarean section. A single blind randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of dexamethasone in reducing the incidence of headache.

METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was carried out in 160 cesarean patients with physical conditions-1 and emergency-1 at 22-Bahman Hospital, Iran between March 2010 and March 2011. Patients were randomly divided into sample and control groups. The women were studied for incidence of headache in the first 24 hours and the first week after spinal anesthesia. The mean severity of the headache was evaluated on a quantitative scale using the visual analog scale (VAS). Data were gathered and analyzed using the SPSS software Version 11.5, descriptive statistical test, Chi-square, and Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS: The incidence of post-dural puncture headache was observed in 2.5% of the sample group and 12.5% of the control group in the first 24 hours after surgery (p=0.016); and 11.3% in the sample group and 32.5% in the control group in the first week after surgery (p=0.001).

CONCLUSION: The findings of this research illustrate that intravenous dexamethasone reduces the incidence of post-dural puncture headache in the first 24 hours and the first week after spinal anesthesia in cesarean section patients.