International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Feb 2020
Comparative StudyBaseline parameters for rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM®) in healthy pregnant Australian women: a comparison of labouring and non-labouring women at term.
Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM®) is a point-of-care coagulation test. Reference ranges in non-labouring women have recently been established from a cohort of women presenting for elective caesarean delivery using the recommended minimum sample size of 120. This study aimed to present baseline parameters for labouring and non-labouring women and to compare the mean values of these ROTEM® parameters. ⋯ We demonstrated a significant decrease in the mean time-to-clotting onset in labouring women compared with non-labouring women. Mean values for measures of clot firmness were greater in labouring women. In comparison to previously established ROTEM® baseline parameters for non-labouring women, this study provides evidence that there is greater hyper-coagulability in labouring women.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Nov 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA triple-blinded randomized trial comparing spinal morphine with posterior quadratus lumborum block after cesarean section.
What did they do?
Tamura and team randomised 176 elective CS patients to spinal anaesthesia with or without morphine, in addition to placebo or ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block (QLB).
And they found
Only intrathecal morphine significantly improved analgesia, not QLB whether performed with or without spinal morphine. Thus QLB probably does not improve analgesia further beyond current best practices.
Not so fast...
While this modest-sized RCT concluded that QLB did not improve pain after caesarean section, the conclusion is i) somewhat inconsistent with earlier studies that did show benefit, and ii) the adjuvant analgesic regime1 used may not be applicable to practice outside Japan.
summary
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The researchers administered the remaining 90 mcg fentanyl IV, along with droperidol 1.25 mg and acetaminophen/paracetamol 15mg/kg after baby delivery. An NSAID (diclofenac 50mg) was only provided when breakthrough pain was requested. ↩
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Nov 2019
Review Meta AnalysisInduction opioids for caesarean section under general anaesthesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Remifentanil and alfentanil effectively reduce the pressor response to intubation for general anaesthesia cesarean section, without depressing neonatal Apgar scores.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Nov 2019
ReviewDural puncture epidural versus conventional epidural block for labor analgesia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Dural puncture epidural (DPE) analgesia is a modification of conventional epidural analgesia that involves the intentional puncture of the dura with a spinal needle through the needle placed in the epidural space, without a medication being injected intrathecally. There have been contradictory findings regarding better analgesia and better block quality. ⋯ There is a lack of clear evidence on either the benefits or therisks of the DPE technique, such that a recommendation for or against its routine use is premature. Two of the three studies showing a beneficial effect of DPE came from the same institution and replication of the findings by other groups is warranted.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Nov 2019
Meta AnalysisCarbetocin reduces the need for additional uterotonics in elective caesarean delivery: a systematic review, meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Carbetocin has been found to be superior to oxytocin in terms of need for additional uterotonics and prevention of postpartum haemorrhage at caesarean delivery. However, this is based on combined data from labouring and non-labouring parturients and it remains unclear how effective carbetocin is in the purely elective setting. The aim of this review was to compare carbetocin to oxytocin in elective caesarean delivery. ⋯ Carbetocin is associated with a reduced need for additional uterotonics when compared with oxytocin at elective caesarean delivery. Standardisation of bleeding-related outcomes in studies is necessary to facilitate synthesis of data in future analyses.