Repeat epidural blood patch at the level of unintentional dural puncture and its neurologic complications: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Autologous epidural blood patch (AEBP) is effective for post-dural-puncture headache (PDPH). In some cases, repeat procedures are required for complete cure. In rare instances, severe adverse effects can occur. We present a case of neurologically complicated AEBPs, one of which was performed at the interspace of unintentional dural puncture (UDP). CASE PRESENTATION: A 40-year-old primigravida sustained UDP at the L2-3 interspace during combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for a scheduled cesarean section. She developed PDPH and underwent a single AEBP at L3-4. The PDPH recurred and she required another AEBP at L2-3, after which she reported radicular pains. A diagnosis of subdural hematoma and adhesive arachnoiditis was made. Her symptoms partially resolved in the following months. CONCLUSION: It may be prudent to reconsider the use of repeated AEBP and to avoid the interspace of UDP. A thorough evaluation is warranted to exclude treatable lesions when adverse effects occur.

Comparison of inflationary non-invasive blood pressure (iNIBP) monitoring technology and conventional deflationary non-invasive blood pressure (dNIBP) measurement in detecting hypotension during cesarean section.

BACKGROUND: The Nihon Kohden linear inflationary non-invasive blood pressure (iNIBP) monitoring technology is an oscillometric device that measures blood pressure by detecting oscillations during inflation. Systolic blood pressure can be recorded without overinflating the cuff higher than the true systolic pressure. Thus, total time taken for inflation and deflation is shorter than that by the conventional deflation devices. In this study, the ability of iNIBP to detect maternal hypotension during cesarean section faster than deflationary non-invasive blood pressure (dNIBP) monitoring devices under clinical settings was evaluated prospectively. METHODS: A prospective study of singleton planned cesarean sections at a tertiary center was conducted from August 2015 to April 2016. The combined spinal-epidural anesthesia (CSEA) technique through a single puncture was performed for cesarean section at the center where the study was carried out. An iNIBP cuff was placed on the same arm as the intravenous line, and a dNIBP cuff was placed on the other arm. Due to left uterine displacement by approximately 10° tilt of OR table, hypotension in this study was defined as systolic pressure of 107 mmHg or less, when measured in the left arm, which was about 10 cm lower, and pressure of 92 mmHg or less in the right arm which was about 10 cm higher. This setup was done to evaluate which device detected hypotension faster under clinical settings. A two-tailed Z test was performed to statistically analyze the difference between iNIBP and dNIBP measurement results. RESULTS: One hundred singleton planned cesarean deliveries under CSEA were included after 36 weeks of gestation. Out of the 100, 76 women (76%) experienced maternal hypotension. Of these, iNIBP detected hypotension faster than dNIBP in 47 cases (61.8%). CONCLUSION: It was found that iNIBP detected hypotension faster than conventional dNIBP without compromising the reliability of measurement. This may lead to early treatment of maternal hypotension and prevention of adverse events related to the mother and the fetus.

Identificação dos espaços interespinhosos lombares por palpação e avaliados por radiografias / Identification of the lumbar interspinous spaces by palpation and verified by X-rays / Identificación de los espacios interespinosos lumbares por palpación y evaluados por radiografías

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: A palpação foi demonstrada não ser muito precisa para identificar espaços interespinhosos lombares em anestesia neuroaxial. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a precisão para determinar os espaços interespinhosos lombares pela palpação por anestesiologistas com o uso de radiografias pós-operatórias em pacientes obstétricas. MÉTODOS: Revisamos os registros anestésicos e as radiografias abdominais pós-operatórias de cesarianas. Inserimos o cateter epidural para analgesia pós-operatória com dose única. Incluímos casos de anestesia combinada raqui-peridural e comparamos o nível interespinhoso registrado pelo anestesiologista e o nível de inserção do cateter peridural confirmado pela radiografia abdominal de cada caso. Também avaliamos os fatores (idade, peso, altura, Índice de Massa Corporal, idade gestacional e tipo de cirurgia [programada/emergência]) que levaram à identificação errônea do nível interespinhoso. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliadas 835 cesarianas de 967 feitas. Os níveis das punções documentados pelos anestesiologistas estavam de acordo com os níveis reais de inserção dos cateteres em 563 casos (67%). Quando os anestesiologistas objetivaram identificar o nível L2-3, descobrimos que a inserção do cateter foi em L1-2 em cinco casos (4,9%), dos quais nenhum apresentou qualquer déficit neurológico pós-operatório. Nenhuma das variáveis avaliadas estava significativamente associada à identificação errônea do nível interespinhoso pelos anestesiologistas. CONCLUSÃO: Houve uma discrepância entre o nível estimado pela palpação dos anestesiologistas e o nível real de inserção do cateter mostrado nas radiografias. Parece ser mais seguro escolher o nível interespinhoso L3-4, ou mais baixo, em raquianestesia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Palpation has been shown to be rather inaccurate at identifying lumbar interspinous spaces in neuraxial anesthesia. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of the determination of the lumbar interspinous spaces by anesthesiologist's palpation using post-operative X-rays in obstetric patients. METHODS: We reviewed the anesthetic record and the post-operative abdominal X-rays of the cesarean sections. We indwelled the epidural catheter for post-operative one-shot analgesia. We included combined spinal and epidural anesthesia cases and compared the interspinous level which the anesthesiologist recorded and the epidural catheter insertion level confirmed by abdominal X-ray for each case. We also evaluated the factors (age, body weight, height, Body Mass Index, gestational age, and the type of surgery [planned / emergency]) leading to misidentification of interspinous level. RESULTS: Nine hundred and sixty seven cesarean sections were performed and a total of 835 cases were evaluated. The levels of the puncture documented by the anesthesiologists were in agreement with the actual catheter insertion levels in 563 (67%) cases. When the anesthesiologists aimed at L2-3 level, we found the catheter insertion at L1-2 in 5 cases (4.9%), none of which had any post-operative neurological deficits. No variables evaluated were significantly associated with misidentification of interspinous level by the anesthesiologists. CONCLUSIONS: There was a discrepancy between the anesthesiologists' estimation by palpation and the actual catheter insertion level shown in X-rays. It seems to be safer to choose the interspinous level L3-4 or lower in spinal anesthesia.

JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: Está comprobado que la palpación no es muy exacta para identificar los espacios interespinosos lumbares en la anestesia neuroaxial. El objetivo de este estudio, fue evaluar la precisión para determinar los espacios interespinosos lumbares a través de la palpación por anestesiólogos con el uso de radiografías postoperatorias de pacientes obstétricas. MÉTODOS: Revisamos los registros anestésicos y las radiografías abdominales postoperatorias de cesáreas. Insertamos el catéter epidural para la analgesia postoperatoria con una dosis única. Incluimos casos de anestesia combinada raqui-epidural y comparamos el nivel interespinoso registrado por el anestesiólogo y el nivel de inserción del catéter epidural confirmado por la radiografía abdominal de cada caso. También evaluamos los factores (edad, peso, altura, Índice de Masa Corporal, edad gestacional y tipo de cirugía [programada/emergencia]), que que levaram à identifi cação errônea do nível interespinhoso. RESULTADOS: Se evaluaron 835 cesáreas de las 967 que se hicieron. Los niveles de las punciones documentados por los anestesiólogos estaban a tono con los niveles reales de inserción de los catéteres en 563 casos (67%). Cuando los anestesiólogos quisieron identificar el nivel L2-3, descubrimos que la inserción del catéter fue en L1-2 en cinco casos (4,9%), de los cuales ninguno tuvo ningún déficit neurológico postoperatorio. Ninguna de las variables evaluadas estaba significativamente asociada con la identificación equivocada del nivel interespinoso por los anestesiólogos. CONCLUSIONES: Hubo una discrepancia entre el nivel estimado por la palpación de los anestesiólogos y el nivel real de inserción del catéter mostrado en las radiografías. Parece ser más seguro escoger el nivel interespinoso L3-4, o más bajo, en raquianestesia.

Identification of the lumbar interspinous spaces by palpation and verified by X-rays.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Palpation has been shown to be rather inaccurate at identifying lumbar interspinous spaces in neuraxial anesthesia. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of the determination of the lumbar interspinous spaces by anesthesiologist's palpation using postoperative X-rays in obstetric patients. METHODS: We reviewed the anesthetic record and the post-operative abdominal X-rays of the cesarean sections. We indwelled the epidural catheter for post-operative one-shot analgesia. We included combined spinal and epidural anesthesia cases and compared the interspinous level which the anesthesiologist recorded and the epidural catheter insertion level confirmed by abdominal X-ray for each case. We also evaluated the factors (age, body weight, height, Body Mass Index, gestational age, and the type of surgery [planned / emergency]) leading to misidentification of interspinous level. RESULTS: Nine hundred and sixty seven cesarean sections were performed and a total of 835 cases were evaluated. The levels of the puncture documented by the anesthesiologists were in agreement with the actual catheter insertion levels in 563 (67%) cases. When the anesthesiologists aimed at L2-3 level, we found the catheter insertion at L1-2 in 5 cases (4.9%), none of which had any post-operative neurological deficits. No variables evaluated were significantly associated with misidentification of interspinous level by the anesthesiologists. CONCLUSIONS: There was a discrepancy between the anesthesiologists' estimation by palpation and the actual catheter insertion level shown in X-rays. It seems to be safer to choose the interspinous level L3-4 or lower in spinal anesthesia.

[Progress in the prenatal treatment and anesthetic considerations for fetal surgery].

Recent advances in prenatal diagnosis have made fetal surgery as a possible treatment for a wide variety of fetal diseases. Fetal surgeries consist of minimally invasive fetal surgery such as ultrasound guided procedure and fetoscopic surgery, open fetal surgery, and ex-utero intrapartum treatment. Effectiveness of these fetal surgeries has been discussed and proved to be effective for some diseases. If a fetal surgery is planned, an anesthesiologist is required to offer optimal anesthesia both for mother and fetus. For this purpose, anesthesiologists are supposed to know outlines of the fetal treatment in addition to pediatric and obstetric anesthesia, as a member of multidisciplinary team. In this review, outlines of fetal treatment will be introduced and anesthetic considerations for fetal surgeries will be discussed.