Kaohsiung J Med Sci
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Jan 2011
Lumbar epidural space was narrower in parturients than that in nonpregnant women by ultrasound assessment.
Labor epidural is commonly used to provide both regional anesthesia and postoperative pain relief. Epidural space is supposed to be narrower and deeper in a parturient than that in a nonpregnant woman. The aim of this study was to explore the difference of epidural spaces between parturient and nonpregnant women by ultrasound assessment. ⋯ Epidural space is narrower and deeper at lumbar interspaces in obstetrics by ultrasound examination. The quality of ultrasound images did not differ significantly between the groups. These quantitative results improve the understanding of the differences between two groups that have been previously known qualitatively and may help in avoiding complications.