In this study the investigator will address the efficacy of using low dose bupivacaine spinal anesthesia (SA) in combination with epidural volume extension (EVE) for patients undergoing short obstetric procedures.
Due to risks to both the mother and fetus, neuraxial anesthesia - spinal, epidural, or combined spinal-epidural (CSE) - is preferred over general anesthesia for all obstetrical procedures. However, one downside to neuraxial anesthesia is the increased time patients have to stay in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) due to residual numbness from the neuraxial block. In this study, the investigators will address the efficacy of using low dose bupivacaine spinal anesthesia (SA) in combination with epidural volume extension (EVE) for patients undergoing short obstetric procedures. This will be accomplished by performing a CSE with: 1) injecting the local anesthesia in the spinal space; 2) injecting sterile saline into the epidural space to help increase the spread of the local anesthesia in the spinal space. The idea is that physicians will be able to use less local anesthetic due to getting a greater spread of medication. This lower amount of local anesthetic will lead to a decreased duration of the spinal block; therefore, it will significantly decrease PACU length of stay. This technique will be compared to our traditional dose of spinal anesthetic without EVE in the CSE. Both groups will have an epidural catheter in place to allow us to give any additional local anesthetic to keep the patient comfortable throughout the procedure if the spinal anesthesia begins to wear off. The aim of this study is to determine if low dose spinal bupivacaine in conjunction with EVE can decrease the PACU recovery time for short obstetric procedures while still providing an adequate surgical block.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
45
10 mg of preservative-free isobaric bupivacaine with 12.5mcg of fentanyl injected to the epidural space
5 mg of preservative-free isobaric bupivacaine with 12.5mcg of fentanyl in combination with 10 mL of sterile saline injected into the epidural space.
UAB Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Time Until PACU Discharge in Minutes
Time from entrance into the PACU until PACU discharge criteria met
Time frame: Baseline up to 48 hrs postoperatively
Peak Block Height
Thoracic dermatome level as assessed by pinprick
Time frame: Baseline up to 3 hours
Degree of Peak Motor Blockade by Modified Bromage Scale
Motor blockade will be determined by the patient's ability to lift her legs This is simple scale used to assess motor function in the patients' legs. A numerical value from 0 to 4 is assigned to visual inspection of how well the patient can move her legs. 0=ability to maintain a leg lift for prolonged periods; 1=ability to lift legs briefly; 2=ability to bend knees; 3=ability to wiggle toes; 4=no movement in legs. A score of 0 means complete movement (no blockade) in the legs, whereas a score of 4 means no movement (complete blockade) in the legs.
Time frame: Baseline up to 3 hours
Time Elapsed Until Motor Block Regresses to Modified Bromage Score = 0
Time until score of \<2 reached on Modified Bromage scale This is simple scale used to assess motor function in the patients' legs. A numerical value from 0 to 4 is assigned to visual inspection of how well the patient can move her legs. 0=ability to maintain a leg lift for prolonged periods; 1=ability to lift legs briefly; 2=ability to bend knees; 3=ability to wiggle toes; 4=no movement in legs. A score of 0 means complete movement (no blockade) in the legs, whereas a score of 4 means no movement (complete blockade) in the legs. Once the patient received as score of 0, the time ended. Again, 0=ability to maintain a leg lift for prolonged periods.
Time frame: Baseline up to 6 hours
Quality of Block as Determined by Subjective Pain Assessment
Determined by any pain reported during surgery and/or the need to supplement through the epidural
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Time frame: Baseline up to 6 hours
Patient Satisfaction as Determined by a Likert-type Scale
Patient satisfaction of a scale of 1-10 This scale is grade from 1 to 10 with 1 being "highly dissatisfied" with the anesthetic technique and 10 being "highly satisfied." Each patient was asked to rate their experience with the anesthetic technique provide. They could choose any number between 1 and 10. Numbers close to 10 represented a higher satisfaction with the anesthetic technique.
Time frame: At 6 hrs postoperatively