RESUMEN
Background and Aims: Point-of-care ultrasonography (USG) of the gastric antrum can help to evaluate the aspiration risk and improve the safety of anaesthesia. The aim was to assess the gastric antrum in term parturients scheduled for elective caesarean section using bedside USG. Methods: After obtaining institutional ethics committee approval and written informed consent, 250 term parturients (≥36 weeks gestational age) with body mass index 18.5-30 kg/m2, and scheduled for elective caesarean delivery were included in this study. The parturients were instructed to follow standard fasting guidelines. In the preoperative area, ultrasonographic examinations were performed 15 min before the scheduled time of the caesarean section. The primary outcome was the qualitative assessment (grade 0-2) of the gastric antrum, and the secondary outcome was the quantitative assessment (antral cross-sectional area [CSA]) of gastric antrum in supine and right lateral decubitus (RLD) position. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (version 19). Results: Among the 234 parturients who completed the study, 191 exhibited grade 0 antrum, 42 had grade 1 antrum, and one parturient had grade 2 antrum. Overall, 83% of participants had an antral CSA ≤4.25 cm2 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.52-5.67 cm2] in the RLD position, equivalent to an estimated gastric volume of ≤43 ml (95% CI, 32-68 mL) or ≤1.5 ml/kg (95% CI, 0.49-1.23 ml/kg). Conclusion: Majority of fasted term parturients scheduled for elective caesarean section had a grade 1 gastric antrum on bedside USG. This study also establishes cutoff values of antral CSA and gastric volume in both supine and RLD position for fasted term parturients.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Identification of subarachnoid space in pregnant patients can pose a great challenge to anaesthesiologists. This study was designed to compare conventional landmark technique with pre-procedural ultrasonography-assisted midline approach for identification of the subarachnoid space in elective caesarean section. METHODS: After institute ethics committee approval and written informed consent, 100 parturients scheduled for elective caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia were included in this prospective randomised control trial and divided into Group L (n = 50) (landmark technique) and Group U (n = 50) (ultrasound-guided technique). Parameters such as time taken for the identification of the interspace, distance between skin and dura mater, number of insertion attempts (the primary outcome), number of passes and time taken were recorded in both the groups. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software 16. RESULTS: Demographic profiles of both groups were comparable. The number of attempts for needle insertion (1.04 ± 0.19 vs. 1.97 ± 0.77), number of passes in the same interspinous space (1.26 ± 0.44 vs. 1.90 ± 0.51) and the total time for successful lumbar puncture (31.90 ± 6.30 vs. 51.80 ± 12.28 s) were significantly less in Group U as compared to Group L, but the time of identification of interspinous space was significantly more in Group U (56.70 ± 13.08 s) as compared to Group L (47.10 ± 10.45 s). CONCLUSION: Pre-procedural ultrasound is a useful tool for successful lumbar puncture in parturients as it reduces the number of attempts with fewer side effects as compared to conventional landmark technique.
