Efficacy of ultrasound imaging in obstetric epidural anesthesia

Locating the epidural space in obstetric patients—ultrasound a useful tool: Continuing Professional Development

“…Such outcomes were also found in patients with anticipated difficult epidurals ( Table 1). [15][16][17][18] Several studies involving obstetric patients have shown an excellent correlation between the ultrasound estimated depth to the epidural space and the actual needle depth. The expected depth to the epidural space can be predicted within a range of ±0.7 cm in non-obese parturients and ±1 cm in obese parturients with a 95% confidence interval (Table 2).…”

“…A high frequency (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) MHz) linear transducer is preferred for peripheral nerve blocks and central venous cannulations where the structures to be visualized are located superficially. This transducer produces a high-resolution image; however, it has poor beam penetration.…”

“…The expected depth to the epidural space can be predicted within a range of ±0.7 cm in non-obese parturients and ±1 cm in obese parturients with a 95% confidence interval (Table 2). 5,8,[15][16][17][19][20][21] The concerns regarding the longer time required to perform the epidural with the use of ultrasound are overstated, as the technique actually leads to fewer attempts at successful epidural placement and therefore is likely to reduce overall procedure time in patients with difficult anatomic landmarks. It usually takes an average of 2-3 minutes for the ultrasound assessment of the spine.…”

“…It usually takes an average of 2-3 minutes for the ultrasound assessment of the spine. [15][16][17] Ultrasound as a teaching tool Ultrasound imaging has a potential role in teaching and improving the learning curves of anesthesia trainees for epidural insertion. Grau et al observed a higher success rate and steeper rise in the learning curve of the group that performed ultrasound-guided epidurals compared with the group that learned epidural insertion in the conventional manner.…”

“…De tels résultats ont également été observés chez des patientes pour lesquelles des péridurales difficiles étaient anticipées (Tableau 1). [15][16][17][18] Plusieurs études portant sur des parturientes ont montré une excellente corrélation entre la profondeur de l'espace péridural estimée par ultrason et la profondeur réelle de l'aiguille. La profondeur anticipée de l'espace péridural peut être prédite avec une exactitude de ± 0,7 cm chez les parturientes non obèses et de ± 1 cm chez les parturientes obèses, avec un intervalle de confiance de 95 % (Tableau 2).…”