Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF BASIC AND CLINICAL HEALTH SCIENCES, cilt.9, sa.1, 2025 (ESCI, TRDizin)
Purpose: The aim of the study; to investigate whether there is a relationship between body mass index (BMI), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue, waist circumference, and the skin-epidural space distance measured by USG. Material and Methods: The research was carried out in the block room in the preoperating room of Dokuz Eylul University Practice and Research Hospital and with 42 volunteer operating room workers aged between 18-59 years. Height, weight and waist circumference measurements were made with standard measuring instruments, and other measurements were completed by ultrasonography (USG). For the examination of the skin-to-epidural space distance, a convex probe was used with the transverse median approach in ultrasonography. Abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness measurements were made with a linear probe in the supine position. The statistical correlations of all measurements were examined. Results: The BMI of the volunteers included in the study was found to be 18-29.9 kg/m2, waist circumference 70-115 cm, and abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness 0.55-4.69 cm. It has been observed that the epidural space distance varies between 3.35-5.47 cm at the L2-L3 level and 3.56-6.09 cm at the L3-L4 level in the sitting position. There was a moderate correlation between BMI and skin-epidural space distance, while a high correlation was found with waist circumference and subcutaneouse abdominal fat distance. It has been observed that people with very similar BMI may have different skin-epidural thicknesses. Conclusion: It is observed that the skin-to-epidural space distance does not always show high or very high levels of correlation with anthropometric measurements in individuals. Therefore, if epidural anesthesia is required for individuals with higher weight, the assumption that the skin-to-epidural space distance will also be significantly greater should be avoided.