Fiber Optic Distributed Sensing Network for Shape Sensing-Assisted Epidural Needle Guidance

Epidural anesthesia is a pain management process that requires the insertion of a miniature needle through the epidural space located within lumbar vertebrae. The use of a guidance system for manual insertion can reduce failure rates and provide increased efficiency in the process. In this work, we present and experimentally assess a guidance system based on a network of fiber optic distributed sensors. The fibers are mounted externally to the needle, without blocking its inner channel, and through a strain-to-shape detection method reconstruct the silhouette of the epidural device in real time (1 s). We experimentally assessed the shape sensing methods over 25 experiments performed in a phantom, and we observed that the sensing system correctly identified bending patterns typical in epidural insertions, characterized by the different stiffness of the tissues. By studying metrics related to the curvatures and their temporal changes, we provide identifiers that can potentially serve for the (in)correct identification of the epidural space, and support the operator through the insertion process by recognizing the bending patterns.

Comparison of landmark and real-time ultrasound-guided epidural catheter placement in the pediatric population: a prospective randomized comparative trial

Background: Epidural block placement in pediatric patients is technically challenging for anesthesiologists. The use of ultrasound (US) for the placement of an epidural catheter has shown promise. We compared landmark-guided and US-guided lumbar or lower thoracic epidural needle placement in pediatric patients.Methods: This prospective, randomized, comparative trial involved children aged 1–6 years who underwent abdominal and thoracic surgeries. Forty-five children were randomly divided into two groups using a computer-generated random number table, and group allocation was performed by the sealed opaque method into either landmark-guided (group LT) or real-time ultrasound-guided (group UT) epidural placement. The primary outcome was a comparison of the procedure time (excluding US probe preparation). Secondary outcomes were the number of attempts (re-insertion of the needle), bone contacts, needle redirection, skin-to-epidural distance using the US in both groups, success rate, and complications.Results: The median (interquartile range [IQR]) time to reach epidural space was 105.5 (297.0) seconds in group LT and 143.0 (150) seconds in group UT; P = 0.407). While the first attempt success rate was higher in the UT group (87.0% in UT vs. 40.9% in LT; P = 0.004), the number of bone contacts, needle redirections, and procedure-related complications were significantly lower. Conclusions: The use of US significantly reduced needle redirection, number of attempts, bone contact, and complications. There was no statistically significant difference in the time to access the epidural space between the US and landmark technique groups.

Single-port Laparoscopy with Modified Needle Hook-assisted Extracorporeal High Ligation of Hernia Defects (Suwardi’s Technique): An Experience from Single-center Hospital

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopy has long been used for the evaluation of hernia defects on the contralateral side when performing herniated tears in children. In 1997, El Gohary first reported laparoscopic treatment of hernia repair in a female patient. Since then, laparoscopic inguinal hernia ligation has been performed in various medical institutions with a variety of methods including closing the defect intraperitoneally and extracorporeal ligation of the herniated ring defect. CASE PRESENTATION: Data were taken from January 2016 to December 2020 in the Pediatric Surgery Department of Dr. Moewardi General Hospital, Surakarta. A total of 22 cases, consisting of 19 boys and 3 girls aged 1–14 years (mean 5 years), underwent single-port laparoscopy with modified extracorporeal ligation of hernial defects using an epidural needle. From the results of surgery from January 2016 to December 2020, there were 22 patients with a follow-up period of 6 months who were carried out with a single port without the assistance of forceps and hydrodissection with a single-port laparoscopic technique that had been modified extracorporeally using an epidural needle and were able to evaluate the contralateral side. Thus, it shortened the operating period and the patient was able to be discharged 24 h postoperatively without any complications. CONCLUSION: From 22 patients who used single-port technique with modified extracorporeal ligation of hernia defects using epidural needles, the results were shorter operation time, without complications and satisfying cosmetic results.

Radiating pain during epidural needle insertion and catheter placement cannot be associated with postoperative persistent paresthesia: a retrospective review

Background It has been suggested that radiating pain during spinal or epidural needle insertion and catheter placement can be an indicator of needle-related nerve injury. In this study, using a historical cohort, we investigated what factors could be associated with postoperative persistent paresthesia. In addition, we focused on radiating pain during epidural needle insertion and catheterization. Methods This was a retrospective review of an institutional registry containing 21,606 anesthesia cases. We conducted multivariate logistic analysis in 2736 patients, who underwent epidural anesthesia, using the incidence of postoperative persistent paresthesia as a dependent variable and other covariates, including items of the anesthesia registry and the postoperative questionnaire, as independent variables in order to investigate the factors that were significantly associated with the risk of persistent paresthesia. Results One hundred and seventy-six patients (6.44%) were found to have persistent paresthesia. Multivariate analysis revealed that surgical site at the extremities (odds ratio (OR), 12.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.77–56.4; the reference was set at abdominal surgery), duration of general anesthesia (per 10 min) (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.03), postoperative headache (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.04–2.95), and days taken to visit the consultation clinic (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01–1.06) were independently associated with persistent paresthesia. Radiating pain was not significantly associated with persistent paresthesia (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 0.69–3.54). Conclusion Radiating pain during epidural procedure was not statistically significantly associated with persistent paresthesia, which may imply that this radiating pain worked as a warning of nerve injury.

Dural puncture during lumbar epidural access in the setting of degenerative spondylolisthesis: case series and risk mitigation strategies

Degenerative spondylolisthesis is a common back pathology in the general adult population. Patients with this condition may present for epidural steroid injection, epidural blood patch, or epidural analgesia. We report five patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis who experienced inadvertent dural puncture during interlaminar epidural steroid injection attempts: four with intrathecal contrast spread or cerebrospinal backflow into the epidural needle and one with subdural contrast spread. Patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis may be at higher risk for dural puncture due to stretching of the dura and contraction of the epidural space at the translated spinal level. In the following report, we summarize the cases and suggest risk mitigation strategies for both chronic and acute pain physicians.

Efficacy and Safety of Prophylactic Intrathecal Normal Saline for Prevention of Post Dural Puncture Headache among Women Undergoing Cesarean Section under Spinal Anesthesia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Post-Dural Puncture Headache is the commonest complication of spinal anesthesia. Body of evidence revealed that Conservative management failed to show significant benefit and epidural needle and catheter techniques didn’t provide conclusive evidence. On the other hand, intrathecal injection of normal saline is a simple technique and cost-effective in a resource-limited setup but it is not well examined on its effectiveness and safety profiles.Methods and materials: After Obtaining Ethical clearance from IRB, 152 mothers scheduled for cesarean section under spinal anesthesia were allocated randomly into two groups. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics were run to see the overall distribution of the study subjects. Unpaired student’s T-test for continuous symmetric data and Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed data were used. Categorical data were analyzed with Chi-square and fisher’s exact test where appropriate. A generalized estimating equation model was used to investigate the interaction of repeated measurements of NRS pain scores of PDPH. Result: The overall incidence of PDPH was 29.6% while the proportion of patients who experienced PDPH was the highest among patients with control as compared to intervention( 36.8% vs 22%) respectively. The GEE model revealed that the NRS pain score was 0.7, 0.4, and 0.2 unit higher at 12, 24, and 48 respectively in control as compared to the interventionConclusion: prophylactic intrathecal normal saline could be an option in a resource-limited setup where the appropriate spinal needle is not accessible and management of moderate and severe PDPH is not feasibleRegistration: The protocol was registered prospectively in Clinical Trials.gov (NCT04393766).