Using Simulation to Enhance Education Regarding Epidural Analgesia for Registered Nurses.

BACKGROUND: Registered nurses (RNs) receive didactic training regarding caring for patients receiving epidural analgesia. Although RNs are tested on their knowledge after this training, their ability to critically think through adverse events has not been assessed at our institution. AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of simulation education for RNs regarding the assessment and management of patients receiving epidural analgesia. METHOD: The study included an education intervention, which consisted of a 4-hour workshop. After obtaining informed consent, RNs completed a preworkshop evaluation of skill performance where they completed an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in which they demonstrated an epidural assessment of a standardized patient. RNs then completed a demographic and knowledge questionnaire followed by a lecture regarding care, management, and assessment of patients who are receiving epidural analgesia. After the lecture, RNs practiced epidural assessments within small groups. A postworkshop OSCE, questionnaire, and debriefing were completed before the end of the workshop. RESULTS: Thirty-seven RNs completed the workshop. The mean age of participants was 43 years. For the pre- and postworkshop knowledge questionnaire, there was significant improvement in answers related to epidural pharmacology and assessment of blockade questions. For the pre- and postworkshop OSCE, there was a significant increase in the number of correct procedures performed in all categories, with the exception of assessment of equipment. There was also a significant change in the proportion of RNs who stated that they felt confident in their assessment of a patient receiving epidural analgesia.

Removing epidural catheters: A guide for nurses.

Short-term epidural analgesia is effective for postoperative pain, procedural pain, trauma pain, and labor pain. This article describes the skills, procedures, and nursing care required for removing a short-term, temporary epidural catheter.

Effects of a 30-mL Epidural Normal Saline Bolus on Time to Full Motor Recovery in Parturients Who Received Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia With 0.125% Bupivacaine With 2 µg/mL of Fentanyl.

Previous research suggests that an epidural bolus of 30 mL of normal saline after vaginal delivery may decrease the time for recovery from motor block. A double-blind, randomized controlled study was conducted in 46 parturients to determine if a 30-mL normal saline bolus or sham administered via epidural approach after delivery reduces the time to full motor recovery and the time to 2-dermatome regression. No significant difference was found in time to full motor recovery (saline group 83.18 ± 54 minutes vs control group 100.23 ± 48 minutes, P = .27) or time to 2-dermatome sensory regression (saline group 29.32 ± 16.35 minutes vs control group 36.14 ± 14.39 minutes, P = .15). Results suggest no advantage to the administration of a saline bolus after delivery to hasten the motor recovery in parturients. A post hoc power analysis suggested a sample size of 204 subjects would have been needed to show a difference for this dilute local anesthetic regimen. There were no complications to the technique, which suggests that it is safe to perform, but the difference in recovery (approximately 17 minutes) from a dilute local anesthetic dose may not be clinically significant.

The epidural trip: why are so many women taking dangerous drugs during labor?

Two million American women will take an epidural trip this year during childbirth. In most cases, they'll be ill­informed as to possible side effects or alternate methods of pain relief. In many ways, epidurals are the drug trip of the current generation. Similar to street drug pushers, most anesthesiologists in the delivery rooms maintain a low profile, avoid making eye contact and threaten to walk out if they don't get total cooperation. Women get epidurals for one of the main reasons so many women smoked pot in the 1970s­their friends are doing it. This article examines why so many women in the Western world are compelled to take powerful drugs during their labor and exposes the risks epidurals pose to both mother and baby.

A guide to epidural management.

Epidural analgesia is a key component in the management of inpatient pain relief, particularly in surgical and trauma patients, and those with comorbidities. When used appropriately epidurals can decrease a patient's opiate consumption, as well as reducing the risk of adverse cardiorespiratory outcomes. To non-anaesthetists, or those not versed in their usage, epidurals can appear complex and intimidating, and the potential complications, although rare, can be catastrophic if not picked up on in a timely fashion. This article demystifies the epidural for hospital clinicians, looking at the anatomy and pharmacology, helping to identify patients who may benefit from epidural analgesia, highlighting some common pitfalls and questions posed by nursing staff, and providing a framework via which junior clinicians can detect, manage and appropriately escalate epidural-related problems and complications. Epidural analgesia is an invasive and high-risk intervention; as such it should always be managed by a multidisciplinary team, including anaesthesia and acute pain services.

Parent-assisted or nurse-assisted epidural analgesia: is this feasible in pediatric patients?

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of parent-assisted or nurse-assisted epidural analgesia (PNEA) for control of postoperative pain in a pediatric surgical population. METHODS: After the institutional review board (IRB) approval was obtained, an analysis of our pain treatment services database of pediatric surgical patients with epidural catheters in whom the parent and/or nurse were empowered to activate the epidural demand-dose button was evaluated. RESULTS: Over a 10 -year period between 1999 and 2008, 128 procedures in 126 patients were provided parent or nurse assistance of the epidural demand dose. Satisfactory analgesia was obtained in 86% of patients with no or minor adjustments in PNEA parameters. Fourteen percent of patients were converted to intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for inadequate analgesia (7%) or side effects (7%). None of the patients in this cohort required treatment for respiratory depression or excessive sedation. CONCLUSIONS: Parent-assisted or nurse-assisted epidural analgesia can be safely administered to children undergoing surgery who are physically or cognitively unable or unwilling to self-activate a demand dose. Additional studies are needed to compare the efficacy of PNEA with other modalities for postoperative pain control in children.

Registered nurses' and midwives' knowledge of epidural analgesia.

BACKGROUND: Despite epidural analgesia increasingly being utilized in hospitals, very little research-based evidence is available about registered nurses' (RNs) and midwives' knowledge of this technique. OBJECTIVE: To describe the current epidural knowledge levels of RNs and midwives in a multi-site setting. METHOD: RNs and midwives at four, regional teaching facilities completed an epidural knowledge test. The instrument included demographic items and five knowledge subscales relating to epidural analgesia: spinal cord anatomy and physiology; epidural pharmacology; complications of epidural analgesia; assessment of sensory and motor blockade and the general management of patients with epidural analgesia. RESULTS: A total of 408 (99.7% response) RNs and midwives completed the test. Respondents demonstrated good knowledge of sensory and motor blockade assessment and the general management of epidural analgesia subscales with correct responses to 75 and 77% of the questions in these subscales, respectively. Fair knowledge relating to the spinal cord anatomy and physiology subscale was demonstrated with 69% of the questions answered correctly. The knowledge subscales relating to epidural pharmacology (57% correct responses) and the complications of epidural analgesia (56% correct responses) were problematic for the sample. CONCLUSION: The research results provide generalizable information about what RNs and midwives know about epidural analgesia. These results are an important guide in the development of new and existing dedicated epidural education programs. The results also provide some direction for further research into this important topic.

A Project to Increase Nurses' Comfort in Offering Bedpans to Women Laboring With Epidural Analgesia.

OBJECTIVE: To improve nurses' comfort in helping laboring woman void on a bedpan after initiation of epidural analgesia, to increase the frequency of bedpan use in the labor and birth unit, and to decrease the use of continuous indwelling Foley catheters during the intrapartum period. DESIGN: Quality improvement project. SETTING: A single large, midwestern U.S. hospital (>3,000 births annually), where bedpans are infrequently used after epidural placement. PARTICIPANTS: Registered nurses on a labor and birth unit. INTERVENTION/MEASUREMENTS: A 20-minute educational presentation that included current urinary catheter evidence-based practice, preferential use of bedpans, and methods to help women void successfully was taught to all registered nurses in the author's labor unit. Nurses rated on a scale of 0 (not comfortable at all) to 10 (extremely comfortable) their comfort level at helping a woman with a bedpan. Primary data were collected through a convenience sample of anonymous surveys (n = 52) completed by registered nurses regarding their experience with bedpan and catheter use during labor and their comfort level helping women be successful with voiding. This was followed by a retrospective chart audit for women with term, singleton pregnancies who labored with epidural analgesia. RESULTS: Nurses' comfort levels increased from an average of 5.7 to 7.2 (p = .067). Postepidural bedpan use increased from 5.5% (n = 12) to 19% overall (n = 20; p < .001), with five women using bedpans exclusively. When assisted with bedpan use, 38% (n = 12) of women were able to void 34 of the 53 times it was offered (64%). Use of continuous indwelling Foley catheters decreased from 61.7% (n = 137) to 54.7% (n = 58), and use of intermittent catheterization increased from 30.6% (n = 68) to 37.7% (n = 40). CONCLUSION: When assisted by nurses educated in and comfortable with different voiding techniques, women may be able to avoid medically unnecessary use of urinary catheters during labor.

Nursing peer review: developing a framework for patient safety.

Patient safety is of great concern to healthcare leaders and is a top priority in all healthcare organizations. It is essential to promote an organizational commitment that values a culture of safety through reporting of medical error and analysis of untoward events. Nursing peer review facilitates the establishment of a culture of safety, as it seeks to analyze medical errors and eliminate the reoccurrence of untoward events.

The Great 'Pump'kin Fest: a creative and efficient PCA/epidural pump learning experience.

Keeping up with changing technology is a constant in the healthcare environment. This article focuses on a creative approach to teaching large numbers of staff, a new patient controlled analgesia/epidural pain pump, in a short time frame with a limited number of educators. Implementation of competency checklists was utilized to verify that the learners understood the concepts and were able to apply the new skills learned. The success of this program is attributed to the active involvement of participants in a festive environment.

Development and Evaluation of an Epidural Analgesia Workshop for Senior Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Most prelicensure nursing students receive little to no training in providing care for patients who receive epidural analgesia, despite exposure in clinical settings and the potential for devastating adverse effects. To develop and pilot an epidural workshop for senior nursing students using standardized patients (SPs), and to evaluate feasibility and learner outcomes. METHOD: A 4-hour epidural workshop consisted of a large group lecture and demonstration, small-group practice scenarios, and individual learner evaluation with SPs. Learning outcomes were evaluated using a performance checklist and critical thinking rubric, and pre- and posttests. RESULTS: Participants scored well on the performance-based evaluation (mean score of 86% items performed correctly) and rated the workshop highly. However, learners and instructors made several recommendations for improving the learning module for future sessions. CONCLUSION: This pilot project demonstrated that an epidural analgesia workshop using SPs is feasible and results in positive learning outcomes and high satisfaction with senior nursing students. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(6):359-365.].

Impact of pseudotumor cerebri (idiopathic intracranial hypertension) in pregnancy: a case report.

This case report reviews anesthetic management and medical considerations for a pregnant patient with a history of pseudotumor cerebri (PTC). The 24-year-old woman, gravida 2, paragravida 0, spontaneous abortion 1, was in active labor at an estimated 38 weeks' gestation and had been given a diagnosis of PTC 4 years earlier. This patient first experienced global headaches and blurred vision at age 20 years. At the time of onset of her headache symptoms, she underwent a full diagnostic workup and detailed neurologic examination, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and a lumbar puncture. The MRI was normal. Her lumbar puncture showed elevated cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) pressures and normal CSF composition. The patient's initial symptoms of headache and blurred vision were managed with medication and serial lumbar punctures. The patient was free of PTC symptoms on admission for labor. A lumbar epidural was placed for labor analgesia. The patient delivered a healthy infant after approximately 10.5 hours of patient-controlled epidural analgesia.

Controlling chronic pain in the workplace: nerve stimulation and intrathecal drug delivery systems.

Chronic pain can have a major effect on both workers and the workplace. Collaboration among workers, occupational health nurses, and specialist providers is important for ongoing management of mechanism-based therapies for chronic pain. This article examines collaborative care issues relative to nerve stimulation and intrathecal drug delivery systems.

Post-operative pain management: transition from epidural to oral analgesia.

Although managing pain in the acute surgical setting is a priority, there is a dearth of evidence to guide clinicians on how best to approach the discontinuation and transition of patients from epidural analgesia to oral analgesia post-operatively. This article describes an audit at a regional trust which examined data on patients' observations charts, as well as patients' self-reports of pain. The authors found that reducing epidural opioid concentrations post-operatively is useful in analgesic transition, using bupivacaine only for weaning has limited value, and that the timing of oral analgesia administration is important. They conclude that comprehensive pain assessment and better documentation are necessary to improve pain management practices. While the results demonstrate the advantage of reducing epidural opioid concentrations, decisions should be based on the needs of individual patients and not form part of a routine task.

Assessment and management of patients with post-operative pain.

Effective pain management is essential in the post-operative period to ensure that patients do not experience unnecessary distress or suffering and to minimise potential complications. Post-operative pain management strategies should focus on combining pharmacological management and comfort measures to ensure maximum pain relief for each patient.

Use of epidural analgesia in post-operative pain management.

This article provides an overview of the use of epidural infusion analgesia in the management of patients with post-operative pain. Epidural analgesia is an effective method for relieving pain and has minimal side effects. However, life-threatening complications can occur and nurses need to be able to identify these and provide safe care for patients.

Effectively starting and titrating intrathecal analgesic therapy in patients with refractory cancer pain.

Patients continue to suffer from pain despite their analgesic regimen and frequently from symptoms related to these interventions. This article describes the role that intrathecal analgesia may play in improving comfort for individuals experiencing refractory pain and/or symptoms of opioid therapy. Patient selection, staff education, institution requirements, medications, and titration guidelines also will be reviewed. Patients with cancer clearly deserve to achieve comfort; therefore, intrathecal therapy, which is a safe intervention, must be considered when refractory pain or symptoms occur.

Ensuring prompt diagnosis and treatment of epidural abscess.

An epidural abscess, defined as a collection of pus between the dura mater of the spinal cord and the vertebral canal (Mosby, 2002), is a rare complication of epidural analgesia. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential to a good outcome. If left untreated, an epidural abscess can result in permanent paralysis and incontinence. It is essential that nurses caring for patients receiving epidural analgesia are aware of this potential risk.