Regional anesthesia
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Regional anesthesia · Jan 1996
Case ReportsEpidurograms in the management of patients with long-term epidural catheters.
Standardized test doses have been established in the practice of anesthesiology to determine the location of the epidural catheter tip. The resulting data obtained after test dosing is open to interpretation, and comparison is difficult. A more objective method of catheter verification and epidural space measurement is indicated in long-term epidural catheterization. The goal of this review is to define a standard procedure for epidurography, explore the use of an epidurogram algorithm in differential diagnosis, and review the temporal relationship of a series of epidurograms. ⋯ The review of repeated epidurograms and presented case reports support the use of epidurograms as a diagnostic tool for clinical practice. Abnormal epidurograms helped determine epidural space infection, tumor obstruction, space compression from vertebral compression fractures, and epidural fibrosis. The addition of a contrast computed tomographic scan after epidurography allows for more accurate diagnostic interpretation of epidural space pathology. The use of a standard epidurogram technique allows this procedure to be used in the differential diagnosis of suspected problems in the epidural space.
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Regional anesthesia · Jan 1996
Letter Case ReportsDural puncture with arrow Flex Tip plus catheter.
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Regional anesthesia · Nov 1995
Comparative StudyComparison of thrombelastography with common coagulation tests in preeclamptic and healthy parturients.
Epidural analgesia/anesthesia is often beneficial in the management and treatment of preeclampsia. However, some preeclamptic patients have a coagulopathy that is a contraindication to regional anesthesia. A routine coagulation battery (RCB) consisting of prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, platelet count, and bleeding time, is commonly performed to assess coagulation status. Thrombelastography (TEG) is a measure of clotting that allows evaluation of overall coagulation activity. The goal of this study was to examine whether TEG can predict normal and abnormal coagulation as diagnosed by RCB in healthy and preeclamptic parturients. ⋯ Thrombelastography is not an effective means of predicting abnormal coagulation, as diagnosed by RCB, in preeclamptic parturients, using currently defined normal TEG values for nonpregnant patients. However, an abnormal TEG maximum amplitude value always correlated with a prolonged bleeding time. Therefore, TEG may be useful in assessing platelet function in the presence of thrombocytopenia. Further studies are warranted.
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Regional anesthesia · Nov 1995
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialA double-blind comparison of the abdominal wall relaxation produced by epidural 0.75% ropivacaine and 0.75% bupivacaine in gynecologic surgery.
Ropivacaine is a long-acting local anesthetic agent with similar potency to that of bupivacaine when administered for epidural anesthesia. Ropivacaine, however, may be less cardiotoxic than bupivacaine. Epidural bupivacaine and ropivacaine have been shown to be equally effective in providing sensory block for lower extremity surgery, but they have not been compared for their ability to produce abdominal wall relaxation. ⋯ Both 0.75% ropivacaine and 0.75% bupivacaine provide adequate surgical anesthesia for lower abdominal surgery when administered epidurally. However, lower extremity motor block with ropivacaine is significantly shorter and of slower onset and sensory block shorter at these concentrations.