Gravity Flow Technique to Validate Proper Location of Epidural Needle Tip on Obese Parturients
Status
Conditions
Treatments
Details and patient eligibility
About
Pregnant women, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2, who receive epidural analgesia/anesthesia for childbirth will have epidural catheter placement per our standard procedure, which includes using the gravity flow technique to confirm that the tip (aperture) of the epidural needle is indeed located within the epidural space. The study procedure will be to use a cold stimulus (ice) to assess the subjects for hypesthesia the dermatomes of the lower abdomen between 10 and 30 minutes after the epidural catheter is inserted. Hypesthesia to cold will be taken a sign of successful lumbar epidural block.
Full description
The purpose of this study is to quantify the reliability of the gravity flow technique to accurately validate the position of the epidural needle tip when performing lumbar epidural analgesia/anesthesia for childbirth (vaginal and cesarean delivery) in women with a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2.
Enrollment
Sex
Ages
Volunteers
Inclusion criteria
- Patients requesting epidural analgesia/anesthesia for childbirth
- American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I to III
- Ability to speak and read English to fully comprehend the consent process
- BMI greater than 30 kg/m2
Exclusion criteria
- Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia
- Coagulopathy
- History of lumbar spine surgery
- Allergy or contraindication to any of the study medications
- Contraindication to epidural analgesia
- ASA physical status >III
- BMI less than 30 kg/m2
Trial design
Primary purpose
Allocation
Interventional model
Masking
100 participants in 1 patient group
Trial contacts and locations
Loading...
Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov
Clinical trials
Research sites
Resources
Legal