Purpose

This study will address the utility of ultrasound in the placement of an epidural catheter in severely obese parturients. Identification of midline can often be difficult using the standard method of palpation in obese patients. The Investigator will determine if the use of ultrasound decreases the amount of time and number of attempts required to place the epidural.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 19 Years and 45 Years
Eligible Genders
Female
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • patient request for a labor epidural - BMI≥35

Exclusion Criteria

  • BMI<35 - patient refusal of a labor epidural - coagulopathy - platelets<80,000 - prior spine procedure or instrumentation - a diagnosis of scoliosis - an intracranial or spinal mass

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description
Upon enrollment into the study, participants will be randomized 1:1 to either ultrasound or palpation. Randomization will be performed via random drawing: the provider will randomly select a card assigning the method of midline identification (i.e., ultrasound or palpation). Anesthesia providers will not be randomized. Any qualified provider available to place the epidural will be the person to perform the procedure.
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
Palpation Group
The palpation group will have an epidural placed after manual palpation of the spine.
  • Procedure: Palpation
    Traditional epidural methods used for the identification of the midline using palpation prior to procedure
Active Comparator
Ultrasound Group
The ultrasound group will have an epidural placed after identifying midline with the ultrasound.
  • Device: Ultrasound
    Lumbar spinal ultrasound performed for identification of the midline prior to procedure.

More Details

Status
Completed
Sponsor
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study Contact

Detailed Description

The use of ultrasound has expanded into many areas of medicine including the identification of bony landmarks to facilitate epidural placement in obstetric anesthesia. Using ultrasound for epidural placement has become popular over the last decade with several studies being published on the topic. The likely increase in popularity for ultrasound use in the obstetric population is the need to more reliably locate bony landmarks as the traditional palpation technique has been shown to be an inaccurate way to accomplish this. Given the fact that the long-taught palpation technique can be inaccurate and studies have validated the use of ultrasound for epidural placement, ultrasound technique is routinely taught by the obstetric anesthesiologists to the anesthesiology residents at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Also, since both techniques are considered standard practice at UAB, anesthesia providers (residents, fellows, and faculty) are free to choose either technique to locate bony structures of the back prior to epidural placement. Since no current study has specifically addressed its use in the obese pregnant patient, the investigators would like to validate its use in this population. In this study, investigators will evaluate the use of ultrasound in the obese population to determine if its use will decrease the time it takes to place the epidural and number of attempts required when compared to the traditional palpation technique. The study will also determine the success rate of epidural placement in both the palpation and ultrasound groups.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.