Management of a Retained Epidural Catheter in a Pregnant Patient: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Background: Epidural anesthesia is an effective intervention to treat labor pain and provide analgesia for orthopedic procedures. A rare complication of this technique is epidural catheter retention. Case Presentation: In this case report, we present an otherwise healthy 21-year-old G2P0010 woman at 39 weeks and 3 days gestation whose anesthetic management was complicated by a symptomatic retained epidural catheter fragment. Computed tomography (CT) imaging of her spine showed the fractured catheter within her paraspinal muscles and neurosurgery recommended no surgical intervention at that time. The patient reported resolution of back pain while in the postpartum unit which she continues to endorse two weeks after discharge. Conclusion: Retained epidural catheter is a medical emergency that requires immediate imaging and neurological evaluation. While magnetic resonance imaging is typically regarded as the standard imaging modality for this complication, in epidural sets that contain metallic components, we suggest using CT to avoid the risk of thermal nerve damage. In cases where the patient does not report any acute complaints, nonsurgical management may be appropriate but close follow-up is required to monitor for catheter migration.

Anesthetic Management of a Patient with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type III Undergoing Emergent Caesarean Section: A Case Report

In this case report, we describe the anesthetic management for a 36-year-old G2P0010 at 36 weeks gestation with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type III who underwent an emergent caesarean section due to fetal footling breech position. The patient is a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic with kyphoscoliosis and a lack of cough reflex who required nasal continuous noninvasive ventilatory support (CNVS) for chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. Surgery was done under general anesthesia due to its emergent nature, and the patient was successfully extubated and transitioned to nasal CNVS in the operating room at the end of the case. Postoperative care was provided in the medical intensive care unit for three days without complication and the patient was discharged home uneventfully.

A Structured Method of Teaching Epidural Block reduces the incidence of accidental dural puncture in inexperienced trainees.

Background: The rate of accidental dural puncture is particularly high during the period of training, especially in novices. The structured epidural teaching model (SETM) includes three standardized video lessons, the construction of a 3D epidural module by trainees and practical training by using an epidural simulator with and without the CompuFlo™ Epidural instrument. In this study we report the retrospective analysis of the accidental dural puncture rate of inexperienced trainees during their 6 months clinical practice rotation in obstetrics before and after the introduction of the SETM in our Institution. Method: We evaluated the incidence of accidental dural puncture before the introduction of the SETM methodology and afterwards by analyzing our departmental database from February 2019 to January 2023. All epidural blocks were executed by trainees who had never previously performed an epidural block and were about to begin their obstetrics rotation. Results: We analyzed 7415 epidurals: 3703 were performed before the introduction of the SETM methodology (control group) and 3712 afterwards (study group). The incidence of accidental dural puncture was 0.37% for the control group and 0.13% for the study group (p<.05). The probability of making an accidental dural puncture was 64% (OR: 0.36) lower for trainees who had the training than for those who did not. Conclusions: After the introduction of the structured teaching method, we observed a significant reduction of accidental dural puncture during the training period. We hope that our observation will encourage a constructive discussion among experts about the need to use standardized and validated tools as a valuable aid in teaching epidural anesthesia.

Effectiveness of acupuncture versus spinal-epidural anesthesia on labor pain： a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture analgesia(AA) compared with combined spinal-epidural anesthesia(CSEA) for labor pain relief and labor outcomes.METHODS: We evaluated 131 primiparous women who received respiratory guidance during maternal uterine contractions and received either AA(n =43), CSEA(n = 45), or no additional treatment(control, n = 43). The groups were compared regarding visual analog scale(VAS) scores for abdominal and back pain, and labor outcomes.RESULTS: The abdominal VAS scores of the AA and CSEA groups were significantly lower than that of the control group. In addition, the VAS scores of the CSEA group were significantly lower than that of the AA group at 10 and 60 min after intervention.The back pain VAS scores of the AA and CSEA groups were significantly lower than that of the control group at 5, 10, and 60 min after intervention. The duration of the active phase of labor in the CSEA group was significantly longer than that of the AA and control groups. The rates of oxytocin use(4.70%), urinary retention(4.70%), and postpartum hemorrhage [(273.7 ± 53.6) m L] in the AA group were significantly lower than in the CSEA group [46.70%, 24.20%, and(320.0 ± 85.6) m L, respectively].CONCLUSION: Both AA and CSEA were effective for labor pain relief, CSEA provided more effective pain relief, while AA was associated with a shorter duration of labor and fewer adverse effects.and each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Minimum effective local anesthetic dose of intrathecal hyperbaric ropivacaine and bupivacaine for cesarean section

Background Intrathecal anesthesia is commonly used for cesarean section. Bupivacaine and ropivacaine have all been used as intrathecal drugs. The minimum effective local anesthetic dose （MLAD） of intrathecal ropivacaine for nonobstetric patients has been reported. However, few data are available on the MLAD of hyperbaric ropivacine for obstetric patients and the relative potency to bupivacaine has not been fully determined. In this study, we sought to determine the MLAD of intrathecal ropivacaine and bupivacaine for elective cesarean section and to define their relative potency ratio.Methods We enrolled forty parturients undergoing elective cesarean section under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia and randomized them to one of two groups to receive intrathecal 0.5% hyperbaric ropivacaine or bupivacaine.The initial dose was 10 mg, and was increased in increments of 1 mg, using the technique of up-down sequential allocation. Efficacy was accepted if adequate sensory dermatomal anesthesia to pin prick to T7 or higher was attained within 20 minutes after intrathecal injection, and required no supplementary epidural injection for procedure until at least 50 minutes after the intrathecal injection.Results The intrathecal MLAD was 9.45 mg （95%confidence interval （CI）, 8.45-10.56 mg） for ropivacaine and 7.53 mg （95%CI, 7.00-8.10 mg） for bupivacaine. The relative potency ratio was 0.80 （95% Cl, 0.74-0.85） for ropivacaine/bupivacaine when given intrathecally in cesarean section.Conclusion Ropivacaine is 20% less potent than bupivacaine during intrathecal anesthesia for cesarean delivery.

Laryngeal Mask Airway for Cesarean Delivery： A 5-Year Retrospective Cohort Study

Background： The laryngeal mask airway （LMA） is the most commonly used rescue airway in obstetric anesthesia. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the application of the LMA in parturients undergoing cesarean delivery （CD） for 5 years in our hospital. As a secondary objective, we investigated the incidence of airway-related complication in obstetric general anesthesia （GA）. Methods： We collected electronic data for all obstetric patients who received GA for CD between January 2010 and December 2014 in Peking University First Hospital. Based on the different types of airway device, patients were divided into endotracheal intubation （ET） group and LMA group. The incidences of regurgitation and aspiration, as well as maternal and neonatal postoperative outcomes were compared between groups. Results： During the 5-year study, GA was performed in 192 cases, which accounted for 2.0% of all CDs. The main indications fbr GA were contraindication to neuraxial anesthesia or a failed block. Among these, ET tube was used in 124 cases （68.9%） and LMA in 56 cases （31.1%）. The percentage of critical patients above the American Society of Anesthesiologists＇ Grade II was 24/124 in ET group and 4/56 in LMA group （P = 0.036）. The emergent delivery rate was 63.7% for ET group and 37.5% for LMA group （P = 0.001）. None of the patients had regurgitation or aspiration. There were no significant differences in terms of neonatal Apgar scores, maternal and neonatal postoperative outcomes between the two groups. Conclusions： Our results suggested that GA was mainly used for contraindication to neuraxial anesthesia or a failed block, and emergent CDs accounted for most cases. The second-generation LMA could be used for obstetric anesthesia, but correct position to achieve a good seal is the key to prevent reflux and aspiration. Whether they could replace the tracheal tube in routine practice needs further large prospective studies.