57 patients scheduled for orthopaedic lower extremity surgery under spinal anaesthesia were randomized to either intravenous phenylephrine for hypotension prophylaxis, or were administered intravenous sodium chloride (NaCl). Patients were assessed for episodes of hypotension, hypertension, and bradycardia intraoperatively and up to 24 hours postoperatively. While the mean number of patients with a hypotensive episode did not significantly differ between groups, the mean number of hypotensive episodes per patient was significantly lower in the phenylephrine group compared to the NaCl group.