• Eliane Cristina de Souza Soares, Mrinalini Balki, Kristi Downey, Xiang Y Ye, and Jose Carlos A Carvalho.
• Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, 600 University Ave, Room 7-400, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X5, Canada. elianecssoares@gmail.com.
• Can J Anaesth. 2022 Jun 1; 69 (6): 750755750-755.

PurposeAssessment of sensory block level during labour epidural analgesia is an essential component of clinical practice and patient safety. Nevertheless, the methods and direction of testing are not standardized. In our hospital, sensory block testing to ice is routinely used, but while some anesthesiologists test the block from a nonanesthetized to an anesthetized area, some do it in the opposite direction. It is unknown how these two different practices affect identification of the sensory block level. The objective of this study was to determine the agreement between these two practices.MethodsWe enrolled 31 patients admitted to the labour and delivery unit in a prospective cohort study. At their request, labour epidural analgesia was performed as per institutional routine. Sensory block level to ice was assessed using opposite directions by two randomly assigned independent investigators, one and two hours after the loading dose was administered.ResultsSensory block levels to ice assessed from an anesthetized area to a nonanesthetized area were lower than those when assessed with the stimulus applied in the opposite direction, typically one segment lower.DiscussionGiven the small difference detected with both methods, it may be acceptable to use either in clinical practice. Nevertheless, the lack of standardization may have a significant impact when comparing studies involving assessment of sensory block to ice.Study Registrationwww.Clinicaltrialsgov (NCT03572439); registered 28 June 2018.© 2022. Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.

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