International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Feb 2020
Observational StudyGastric emptying of carbohydrate drinks in term parturients before elective caesarean delivery: an observational study.
Pre-operative carbohydrate (CHO) drinks have shown some benefits peri-operatively and have been incorporated into many Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) programmes. We assessed the gastric emptying of pre-operative CHO drinks prior to elective caesarean delivery using ultrasonography. ⋯ The gastric emptying of this cohort of pregnant women suggests that 400 mL of a CHO drink can be safely consumed up to two hours before elective surgery. This study can help inform future peri-operative fasting guidelines for pregnant patients.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Feb 2020
Case ReportsManagement of cesarean delivery in a parturient with sickle cell disease.
Chronic hemolysis and intermittent vaso-occlusion in sickle cell disease can lead to recurrent blood transfusions with related complications such as antibody formation and rarely, life-threatening reactions. We report a case of a parturient who presented with complications of sickle cell disease and who later had fetal compromise that required an emergent cesarean delivery. Complex management decisions were made, aided by technologies such as rotational thromboelastometry, quantitative blood loss analysis and cell salvage.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Feb 2020
Review Meta AnalysisAdverse side effects and route of administration of opioids in combined spinal-epidural analgesia for labour: a meta-analysis of randomised trials.
Studies report an increased risk of maternal and fetal adverse side effects when combined spinal-epidural, rather than standard epidural, analgesia is provided for labour and delivery. Intrathecal opioids used with local anaesthetic in combined spinal-epidural analgesia may be a cause. It is not known whether this is due to the addition of opioid to local anaesthetic in the intrathecal space only or due to concomitant administration into the intrathecal and epidural spaces. ⋯ For combined spinal-epidural techniques, the administration of opioids in combination with local anaesthetic, particularly when used in both the intrathecal and epidural space, should be carefully considered.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Feb 2020
Infrared thermography to assess dermatomal levels of labor epidural analgesia with 1 mg/mL ropivacaine plus 0.5 µg/mL sufentanil: a prospective cohort study.
Assessment of the effectiveness of obstetric epidural analgesia may be difficult and techniques for objective assessment of epidural spread of local anesthetic would be useful. In this prospective cohort study we assessed whether obstetric epidural analgesia from a low concentration of ropivacaine led to significant change in cutaneous temperature, related to sympathetic block detected by infrared thermography, at dermatomes C4, T4, T10, L2 and L5. ⋯ These results suggest that infrared thermography might be useful for the early diagnosis of successful obstetric epidural analgesia.