EFFECTS OF ANAESTHETIC TECHNIQUE ON DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS: A Comparison of Subarachnoid and General Anaesthesia

Forty patients with fractured neck of femur were allocated randomlyto undergo surgery under general anaesthesia (GA) or subarachnoidanaesthesia (SAB). After operation, the incidence of deep veinthrombosis (DVT), assessed by venography, was found to be 40%in the SAB group, which was significantly lower than the incidence(76.2%) in the GA group. These observations may account forthe previously reported effect of SAB, in comparison with GA,in reducing early postoperative mortality in this category ofpatient. ^*Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, Radcliffe Infirmary,OxfordOX2 6HE. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Liverpool Hospital,LiverpoolL7 8XP. University Department of Anaesthesia, Leicester Royal Infirmary,Leicester LEI 5WW.