Total Spinal Block Complicating Epidural Analgesia in Labour

Total spinal following labour epidural analgesia managed with non-invasive ventilation.

A 30-year-old woman developed total spinal anaesthesia during establishment of labour analgesia via an epidural catheter The subsequent respiratory failure was successfully managed with non-invasive ventilation. This report describes the use of non-invasive ventilation in the parturient and the process of managing the parturient safely in an appropriately monitored environment. This case displa...

Spinal Epidural Analgesia

Spinal epidural abscess--a rare complication after epidural analgesia for labour and delivery.

We report a case of spinal epidural abscess formation after short-term epidural catheter placement for analgesia during labour and delivery. The patient was previously healthy and did not have any predisposing factors. Increasing back pain was the only complaint. A contrast-enhanced CT study on day 5 was inconclusive. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed and showed a large triangular-shaped...

Comparison of low-dose epidural with combined spinal-epidural analgesia for labour.

We have performed a randomized comparison of two low-dose epidural regimens for analgesia in labour, differing only in the manner in which initial analgesia was established. In the epidural (EPI) group, 484 women received a loading dose of 20 ml of 0.1% bupivacaine with fentanyl 2 micrograms ml-1. In the combined spinal-epidural (CSE) group, 524 women received a spinal injection of plain bupiva...

Epidural versus non-epidural or no analgesia in labour.

BACKGROUND Epidural analgesia is a central nerve block technique achieved by injection of a local anaesthetic close to the nerves that transmit pain and is widely used as a form of pain relief in labour. However, there are concerns regarding unintended adverse effects on the mother and infant. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of all modalities of epidural analgesia (including combined -spinal...