Uniport soft-tip, open-ended catheters versus multiport firm-tipped close-ended catheters for epidural labor analgesia: a quality assurance study

Injecting saline through the epidural needle decreases theiv epidural catheter placement rate during combined spinal-epidural labour analgesia

“…11,16 Cadaveric and in vitro studies have shown that it is very difficult to force an 18-or 20-gauge epidural catheter through dura punctured by a 25-gauge spinal needle. 17,18 Using an Arrow Flex-Tip (Arrow International, Reading, PA, USA) epidural catheter is an alternative way to minimize the incidence of venous cannulation.…”

“…In parturients, the incidence of venous cannulation is lower with the softer, uniport Flex-Tip Arrow® than with the harder, multiport Portex® (Sims Portex Inc., Keene, NH, USA) epidural catheter (1.1% vs 5.7%, P < 0.001). 16 However, the primary advantage of multiport catheters, the low incidence of one-sided and patchy epidural blocks, could be lost by using uniport epidural catheters. 19 One limitation of our study is the high incidence of venous cannulation in the dry group.…”

Epidural catheter-induced paresthesia accompanied by changes in skin color and temperature in an obstetric patient

“…5 In one study, in which all subjects were anesthesiologists, eight of nine reported experiencing at least one paresthesia during three separate epidural catheter placements. 6 All subjects described the paresthesia as a transient but intense dull aching pain, similar to a toothache, radiating to a hip or leg.…”

Paraesthesia in Regional Anaesthesia

“…Reported incidences of paraesthesia vary between 0.2 and 56% depending on approach (Leeda et al 2005), patient characteristics (Hebl et al 2010;Spiegel et al 2009), technique (Hebl et al 2006;McAndrew & Harms 2003;van den Berg et al 2011), different catheters (Bouman et al 2007;Jaime et al 2000)and depth of insertion (Cartagena & Gaiser 2005). Even an incidence as high as 81% -89% was reported (Hetherington et al 1994;van den Berg et al 2005).…”