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I know. Borderline trollinglol @ 6 posts in a row
I know. Borderline trollinglol @ 6 posts in a row
100% If they say it's a STAT, it's a STAT. I used to have an attending that would say "never be the reason a baby cannot get delivered on time."Last I checked this is the anesthesia forum. If the OB says we need to section, then we need to section. I’m certainly not going to throw my 2 cents in.....
I also dislike C/S. People shouldn't be awake with laparotomy incisions, but that's just my opinion.
I think if everyone just did CSEs for their labor epidurals we’d have a lot less questionable blocks and more satisfied laboring mothers.....and my unresearched opinion, less C sections after labor. Again my theoryIf a labor epidural is even the least bit sketchy I'll pull it and do a spinal for the c-section. It's just not worth screwing around with encouraging words about "yeah it's just gonna be some pressure" or ketamine or propofol or nitrous, when the gold standard of c-section anesthesia and satisfied customers is a 25 g needle and 3 minute procedure away.
Of course, since I post on SDN, all of MY labor epidurals are magnificent so I never have to do this. It's only epidurals placed by my colleagues who don't have SDN accounts that I can't trust.
that means your epidurals suck. Ive used labor epidurals for C sections by giving 20cc of 2% lidocaine and they always work great.
Then the epidural placed isn’t working the vast majority of the time.
Working epidurals can get surgical anesthesia with 15-20 cc 2% lidocaine 99% of the time. Pulling an epidural to do a spinal in a “working” catheter is adding an unnecessary procedure. There are institutions I know of that strictly do their elective c-sections with 20 cc 2% epidural lidocaine.
I define a good working epidural as a comfortable patient with good bilateral epidural levels. That's a working epidural. There is no way to get >90% of those patients through a c-section comfortably without nitrous or IV meds.
The reason you can do an elective c-section with an epidural is usually that those places are bolusing through the needle and not a catheter that has been in place for 6-18 hours.
I define a good working epidural as a comfortable patient with good bilateral epidural levels. That's a working epidural. There is no way to get >90% of those patients through a c-section comfortably without nitrous or IV meds.
The reason you can do an elective c-section with an epidural is usually that those places are bolusing through the needle and not a catheter that has been in place for 6-18 hours.
I define a good working epidural as a comfortable patient with good bilateral epidural levels. That's a working epidural. There is no way to get >90% of those patients through a c-section comfortably without nitrous or IV meds.
The reason you can do an elective c-section with an epidural is usually that those places are bolusing through the needle and not a catheter that has been in place for 6-18 hours.
This is the craziest and most incorrect thing I’ve read on here in a long time, and that includes all the recent Trump supporting posts.
A good working epidural will work well for a c section 99% of the time, period.
a spinal leaves them more comfortable 99% of the time
a spinal leaves them more comfortable 99% of the time
Then what alternative universe, where I can count on my hands when I had to stop a c section because she’s feeling my epidural loaded with 2% lidocaine, do I work in?I define a good working epidural as a comfortable patient with good bilateral epidural levels. That's a working epidural. There is no way to get >90% of those patients through a c-section comfortably without nitrous or IV meds.
The reason you can do an elective c-section with an epidural is usually that those places are bolusing through the needle and not a catheter that has been in place for 6-18 hours.
What? WHy? You can get a good block out of an epidural...I will never use an indwelling labor epidural for a c-section unless they basically have surgical anesthesia in their labor room or I do not have time to place a spinal. Inferior the vast majority of the time.
There is no way to get >90% of those patients through a c-section comfortably without nitrous or IV meds.
I'm not getting into the penis measuring size portion of the competition
Yes, none of us want negative or adverse outcomes for any of our patients. However, that does not mean - or justify - that we treat all patients the same.Interesting this is re-surfacing now, given recent events. I'm sure we're going to see more and more of this, where complications related to minors or people of color are going to start being called race issues. I hope not, but I won't be surprised. Sad because we treat all patients the same, i.e. none of us want negative or adverse outcomes for any of our patients.
Wow, lots of replies before I got back.But you just proved my point. An inferior block needing a spinal is a bad block. Plain and simple. I’ve certainly placed spinals in ladies who have said “this block isn’t great” prior to me dosing the epidural only to turn them and see the catheter basically out.
If they arrive somewhat comfortable and need a section for failure to progress or fetal intolerance, people shouldn’t make a habit of pulling catheters to do spinals. They should either place better or better secure their epidurals.
moreover, my problem with the statement was saying “surgical anesthesia” was needed in the labor room. That’s the false statement
While I agree with this in theory, we all know L&D floor is full of ticking time bombs. 100% health patients can suddenly code for a handful of reasons including some that have nothing to do with performing an elective proced
Thanks for all the advice. And yes, the longest uncomplicated section I’ve endured thus far was just a hair over 3 hours. Not to mention that our OBs would prefer to hold the uterus at eye level to suture, if it were possible. Currently I pull the catheter if any of the following are present:You should never need to pull a working epidural to do a spinal for a c-section. 15-20cc of 2% lidocaine will last a good 2hrs. Even if she starts to " feel" just give 5 more ccs, see where they are in the case progress, and use the other drugs at your disposal (Prop, midaz, etc) Now you mentioned "residency" so I understand things are slower but when you get to "the real world" you dont need to make that part of your practice.
we do CSEs and use the epidural for c sections. I've pulled the catheter and done a spinal approximately once in the last year. we (and I...) do a ton of OB in our practice.
Relative to my residency experience (where we did not do CSEs) I've been surprised how much better and more even a CSE makes the epidural, and how much better it makes doing a CS with an epidural. Yes, generally speaking a spinal for CS is a denser block than an epidural for CS. Always? No. Generally? Yes.
The judgment of using the labor epidural for CS is tricky. Not all babies descend in the same manner and in the same position. The baby descending OP tends to give Mom a lot more back pain and sacral pain, even with an otherwise well working epidural. While all of your bolusing, catheter pulling back and catheter replacing, etc. won't relieve Mom of that pain totally, bolusing that epidural for CS when the time comes usually works fine. Moms can continue to have back labor/back pain through the epidural. It'll still work fine for CS. Moms who have been admitted for induction and end up with a CS two days later - well they're almost always miserable for multiple reasons and in my experience it doesn't matter if you use the epidural or pull it and do a spinal, they'll still want/need a little IV supplement because they've been in labor laying in a hospital bed for 2 days and they're freaking miserable. I don't blame them.
The only catheters I pull to place spinal are obviously one-sided catheters and catheters that just have failed due to poor placement. The former occurs, but rarely in my experience. The latter also occurs, but so long as you confirmed your position with +CSE, and you aren't stupid, then more often than not that catheter works fine for both labor and CS.
Comfort increases chances of success. Get them comfortable. I’ve actually used pearls learned on this forum (shout out @SaltyDog ) for getting these laboring patients more comfortable and thus more successful and I really think it’s been a benefit to the patients.
Toughest women are Hmong women, anyone who tries to convince me otherwise is a soy boy.I want to circle back around to the beginning of this thread to really hit some issues home in case the casual observer comes through lurking. While all of us professionals can certainly come to a conclusion as to what may have happened in this case, we all know there are many reasons, including those unrelated to epidural or spinal anesthesia, why an L&D patient may arrest. The important issue is that it's quickly recognized and you do everything you can do help the patient. Again, given that the public isn't aware of the full details of the case, I'm don't think there needs to be "Justice for *blank*" protests outside of hospitals.
Having said the above and addressing a few posts on the first page we can't write off bias in medicine but I do think, with regard to OB anesthesia, there's a learning point that can help moving forward. Yes, it bothers me that there is a higher maternal mortality for African American women and Ive certainly wondered if there is something that we as anesthesiologists can do to address that. It's also been studied that it isn't normalized when socioeconomic status is used as a factor (see: Beyonce/Serena Williams, also this )We're obviously mostly involved with only pain control during labor so that's where we need to reflect on our own biases. As said above and I think this needs to be hammered home:
On Labor and Delivery, no two patients are the same.
It's in my opinion that you can't just walk into every laboring patient's room, drop an epidural, start the infusion, and expect to get the same result. We're talking about the subjective issue of pain with a regional anesthetic that isn't meant to achieve surgical anesthesia. Again, I have hot takes, but you will have patients that need the epidural just to take the edge off so they can get the bite block for their delivery while in the very next room you may have a patient that needs a general anesthetic just for the skin local. This varies person to person, and I'll just say it, culture to culture. You'd be surprised who I perceive are the "toughest women" and the ones you need to hit with an epidural nuclear weapon. l
So, again, I'm not ready to say "bias" contributed to this situation, but I really do think this is something that people who cover L&D need to be aware of. I genuine think all anesthesiologists have the best intentions when placing epidurals and spinals for laboring mothers but I personally feel we all need to remember that no two patients are the same.
Disagree with #2. I'll bolus a catheter that's been in for 24 hours as long as its still working.Thanks for all the advice. And yes, the longest uncomplicated section I’ve endured thus far was just a hair over 3 hours. Not to mention that our OBs would prefer to hold the uterus at eye level to suture, if it were possible. Currently I pull the catheter if any of the following are present:
1. Being called to the room previously for a bolus.
2. Epidural placed >12 hrs ago (or by an intern)
3. Any inkling that the pt is crazy
I just can’t stand doing near-general anesthetics with half a dozen adjuncts, while OB is treating the uterus like a bagpipe and looking at me like I’m the mean one for not jumping to convert to general.
But overall, put me in the camp of enjoying OB
Nysora.com will give you all the info you want on spinals or epidurals and then someER doc here. Love this forum. This convo is over my head. I briefly read up on epidural vs spinal but can’t seem to conceptualize the differences and roles pragmatically. Any good links or quick explanations available?
i do midaz/ketamine. works great. they love itFriendly reminder that 10mcg of precedex after the baby is out is magic for discomfort, nausea, and shaking (disclaimer: probably wouldn’t use if patients hemorrhaging as it may confuse assessment of hypotension)
In my experience ladies from that area of the world are pretty darn tough and also pretty grateful.Toughest women are Hmong women, anyone who tries to convince me otherwise is a soy boy.
LOL. How would they know!i do midaz/ketamine. works great. they love it
LOL. How would they know!
I have learned the most about ketamine from my sedated C/S cases. When they start tripping, I can't help but ask them what is going on
Should be ok as long as you didn’t bolus the epidural.How long should you wait after stopping your epidural to place a spinal for a C-section? Afraid of possible high spinals.
I wouldn't delay the case - just turn it off asap, then adjust dose down +/- some mild head up on reposition if you're worried about it.How long should you wait after stopping your epidural to place a spinal for a C-section? Afraid of possible high spinals.
Should be ok as long as you didn’t bolus the epidural.
How long should you wait after stopping your epidural to place a spinal for a C-section? Afraid of possible high spinals.
How long should you wait after stopping your epidural to place a spinal for a C-section? Afraid of possible high spinals.
So what do you give the average spinal after epidural? I use 1.2 mL of 0.75% Bupiv (or full dose of 1.6 mL if I was able to stop if for > 1 hr and level is essentially gone). I am amazed about the 0.5 mL dose after epidural and may need to rethink my dose if that works great...time not relevant, just give smaller dose. Depending on how numb from the epidural I will back off my spinal dose significantly. Also crank their head up a smidge. Still have not gotten a high spinal doing it this way.
So what do you give the average spinal after epidural? I use 1.2 mL of 0.75% Bupiv (or full dose of 1.6 mL if I was able to stop if for > 1 hr and level is essentially gone). I am amazed about the 0.5 mL dose after epidural and may need to rethink my dose if that works great...
I am amazed about the 0.5 mL dose after epidural and may need to rethink my dose if that works great...
true. But could this catastrophe have been avoided?As an old anesthesiologist... I have learned to give other anesthesiologists the benefit of the doubt.
It's very easy to criticize others when you were not in their shoes when the sh.t hit he fan!
But always try to remember these times when you were not stellar... when you could have done better... and you knew it, but you never admitted it. That's what happened here, and unfortunately this time it did not go well.
Let's not crucify the poor guy any further and maybe admit that we are all humans... we sometimes make mistakes.
We all do... it's human to make mistakes.
We are not lawyers, we are physicians and by default scientists.
Scientists know that humans are not perfect!
true. But could this catastrophe have been avoided?