Introduction: Postdural puncture headache is a common complication following dural puncture for spinal anesthesia. The objective was to study the relationship between body mass index and incidence of
postdural puncture headache in female patients undergoing infraumbilical surgeries under spinal anesthesia.
Methodology: After institutional ethical committee cleareance and written informed consent, a prospective observational study was conducted in 70 female patients undergoing infraumbilical surgeries under spinal anesthesia. Body mass index was calculated and they were grouped into 2groups, one with BMI < 25kg/m2 and another with BMI ≥ 25kg/m2. Incidence of PDPH was assessed in both the groups. Results: Postdural puncture headache was reported in 5 patients in the group with BMI < 25kg/m2 and in one patient in the higher BMI group. The overall incidence of PDPH was 8.57% following spinal anesthesia. But the incidence of PDPH was higher in the low BMI group compared to the high BMI group and the results showed a statistical significance with a p value <0.04. Gauge of the needle and number of attempts showed no correlation with the incidence of PDPH and results had a p value >0.05.

Conclusion: The findings of our study was consistent with
the previous studies that showed a inverse relationship between body mass index and incidence of postdural
puncture headache.