International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · May 2018
Case ReportsAnesthetic management of mosaic Turner's syndrome posted for elective cesarean delivery after spontaneous pregnancy.
Turner's syndrome, one of the most common sex chromosome abnormalities in females, is caused by loss of part or all of an X chromosome. We report a case of mosaic Turner's syndrome, posted for elective cesarean delivery under low-dose sequential combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. ⋯ The patient was managed successfully under regional anesthesia, which is generally a preferred technique to general anesthesia, to avoid sympathetic stimulation during intubation and emergence. Further, this technique may avoid potential complications associated with difficult airway management.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · May 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEducating anesthesia residents to obtain and document informed consent for epidural labor analgesia: does simulation play a role?
Informed consent is required before placing an epidural. At our hospital, teaching of residents about this is done informally at the bedside. This study aimed to assess the ability of anesthesia residents to acquire and retain knowledge required when seeking informed consent for epidural labor analgesia. It assessed how well this knowledge was translated to clinical ability, by assessing the verbal consent process during an interaction with a standardized patient. ⋯ In this small study, a didactic teaching method proved better than simulation-based teaching in helping residents to gain knowledge needed to obtain informed consent for epidural labor analgesia.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · May 2018
Observational StudyUltrasonographic evaluation of gastric contents in term pregnant women fasted for six hours.
Current fasting guidelines suggest six hours are adequate to minimise the aspiration risk after a light meal consumed by pregnant women undergoing elective caesarean section. We assessed gastric contents in non-labouring pregnant women, using ultrasonographic analysis. ⋯ Our cohort of pregnant women fasted for six hours had no solid food visible in the antrum, but many had both qualitative and quantitative ultrasonographic evidence of gastric volumes potentially associated with aspiration risk. This suggests that pregnancy-specific fasting guidelines may be required.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · May 2018
Incidence and risk factors for chronic pain after elective caesarean delivery under spinal anaesthesia in a Chinese cohort: a prospective study.
China has one of the highest rates of caesarean delivery in the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors for chronic pain after caesarean delivery in a Chinese cohort. ⋯ Chronic pain after elective caesarean delivery under spinal anaesthesia occurs infrequently, especially in the long-term, in a Chinese population. Patients with a previous caesarean delivery and higher analgesic use were at increased risk.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · May 2018
A retrospective analysis of factors associated with anesthetic case duration for cesarean deliveries.
Accurately predicting cesarean delivery case duration is an integral component of designing appropriate workflow protocols and ensuring adequate provider availability. Our primary objective was to describe the variability of case duration, based on factors that we hypothesized would be influential, such as hospital facility type, United States region, time of day, case volume, and patient and provider characteristics. ⋯ This study analyzed national cesarean delivery data and determined factors associated with cesarean delivery duration. We showed that case durations varied in meaningful ways according to facility type, United States region, presence of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, and anesthesia type. Our work contributes to a small but growing body of research on optimal staffing models for anesthesia practices.