Purpose: Continuous Spinal Anesthesia (CSA) is the technique of initiating and maintaining spinal anesthesia with small incremental doses of local anaesthetic injected intermittently into the subarachnoid space through a catheter. Hemodynamic instability due to high block largely limits the use of conventional Single Shot Spinal Anesthesia (SSSA) in high risk patients. Our primary aim was to observe hemodynamic changes, total fluid and vasopressor consumption and incidence of Post Dural

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... Headache (PDPH), meningitis, focal sensory block after CSA and SSSA in young adults. Methods: Total 44 patients of ASA grades I-III aged 18-60 years, scheduled for lower abdominal and hip surgery received either CSA using 19G paediatric epidural Touhy needle and 22 G catheter (Group CSA; n=22) or SSSA with 25G Quinkes spinal needle (Group SSSA, n=22) using 0.75 % isobaric ropivacaine. Hemodynamics, total fluids &vasopressor consumption and incidence of adverse events were recorded. Results: Demographically, patients were comparable between the groups. HR and DBP was found comparable within the groups and between the groups (p>0.05). Fall in SBP was significant in SSSA group from 10-45 min with respect to baseline and from 5-25 min when compared to CSA group after induction. Mean fluid infused higher in group SSSA (p=0.0176). Five patients in SSSA group while none in CSA group had significant hypotension (p=0.190). PDPH, meningitis, focal sensory block were not observed in any of the patients. Conclusion: CSA provides better hemodynamic stability with minimal incidence of adverse events when compared to SSSA in young patients undergoing lower abdominal and hip surgeries using 0.75% Ropivacaine.