Epidural compared with general anaesthesia for caesarean delivery in conscious women with eclampsia

Type of obstetric anesthesia administered and complications in women with preeclampsia in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Delivery is often expedited with cesarean section, necessitating anesthesia, to prevent complications in women with preeclampsia. Anesthesia-associated risks in these women from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are not known.

METHODS

We searched major databases (until February 2017) for studies on general vs. regional anesthesia in women with preeclampsia. We summarized the association between outcomes and type of anesthesia using a random effects model and reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

FINDINGS

We included 14 studies (10,411 pregnancies). General anesthesia was associated with an increase in the odds of maternal death sevenfold (OR 7.70, 95% CI 1.9 to 31.0, I² = 58%) than regional anesthesia. The odds of pulmonary edema (OR 5.16, 95% CI 2.5 to 10.4, I² = 0%), maternal intensive care unit admissions (OR 16.25, 95% CI 9.0 to 29.5, I² = 65%), and perinatal death (OR 3.01, 95% CI 1.4 to 6.5, I² = 56%) were increased with general vs. regional anesthesia.

CONCLUSION

General anesthesia is associated with increased complications in women with preeclampsia undergoing cesarean section in LMIC.

Risk assessment of morbidly obese parturient in cesarean section delivery: A prospective, cohort, single-center study

BACKGROUND

Up to 40% of women gain excessive weight during pregnancy. Obesity complications and risks in parturient women undergoing cesarean section (CS) with different anesthetic methods remain unknown. This study aimed to assess the safety and risk of obese women undergoing CS delivery with various perioperative anesthetic methods.

METHODS

Seven hundred ninety parturient women underwent CS under general anesthesia (GA), intraspinal anesthesia including epidural anesthesia (EA) and combined spinal-epidural anesthesia (CSEA). They were divided into morbid (n = 255), severe (n = 274), and non-obesity (n = 261) groups. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (number NCT03002636).

RESULT

Between 2013 and 2016, 790 pregnant were assessed. Compared with the non-obesity group, there were significantly more fetal distress and higher body mass index (BMI) in the morbid obesity group (P = .0001 and P = .001, respectively). Significantly more patients showed preeclampsia, multifetation, amniotic fluid abnormality, and high bleeding amounts in the morbid obesity group compared with the non-obesity group (P = .0001, P = .048, P = .017, and P = .018, respectively); more patients were administered EA and GA compared with the non-obesity group (P = .0001 and P = .0001, respectively). More post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) patients were found in the severe obesity group no more than the non-obesity group. Significantly increased anesthesia puncture times for 5 > n ≥ 3 and n ≥ 5 were obtained in the morbid obesity group (P = .0001 and P = .0001, respectively), with more patients in the puncture sitting position, compared with the non-obesity group (P = .0001).

CONCLUSION

GA, EA, and CSEA are safe and effective in severely or morbidly obese patients. Morbidly obese parturient show increased likelihood for fetal distress, PACU, sitting position puncture, puncture difficulty, and other pregnancy complications. There were more anesthesia puncture times in morbidly obese patients.

Anesthetic management of a patient presenting with eclampsia

Eclampsia is one of the most common emergencies encountered by anesthesiologists which involve a safe journey of two lives. The definition, etiology, pathophysiology, treatment guidelines along with a special reference to management of labour pain and caesarean section are discussed. Eclampsia is commonly faced challenging case in our day to day anaesthesia practice,but less is discussed in our anaesthesia text books. Lot of controversies with regard to fluid management and monitoring still remain unanswered

Fetomaternal outcome in severe preeclamptic women undergoing emergency cesarean section under either general or spinal anesthesia

This prospective observational study compared the effects of general and spinal anesthesia in 173 severe preeclamptic women undergoing emergency cesarean section. 146 (84.5%) patients underwent spinal anesthesia (SA) and 27 (15.5%) patients had general anesthesia (GA). Most of the patients were primigravid and nulliparous. Intraoperatively SA group required more intravenous fluid and vasopressor support, while GA group required more preoperative labetalol injection for blood pressure control. Overall 13.3% of patients required critical care, particularly GA group (44.4% versus 7.5%; P < 0.001). Patients receiving GA had a higher mortality (25.9% versus 1.4%; P < 0.001). The length of hospital stay was comparable. Significantly more neonates of patients receiving GA were found to be preterm (77.8% versus 44.5%; P < 0.01) and required advanced resuscitation. GA group also had higher neonatal mortality (29.6% versus 11%; P < 0.05). To conclude, severe preeclamptic mothers receiving general anesthesia and their babies required more critical care support. Maternal as well as neonatal mortality was significantly higher with general anesthesia.

[Anesthesia and preeclampsia]

An assessment of the patient must take place as early as possible in view of anaesthesia. It is recommended to perform a clotting screen as close as possible to the performing of an epidural anaesthesia. The use of aspirin, if indicated for the prevention of PE, does not as such, constitute a contraindication to performing an epidural anaesthesia if: With regards to the minimum platelet count, the recommended cut-off value for the performing of an epidural and spinal anaesthesia are 75 & 50 x 10(9)/l respectively, only if all of the following conditions are met: It is recommended to quickly set up an epidural anaesthesia because this will improve the blood pressure as well as the utero-placenteric haemodynamics and also because this will facilitate the management in case of a caesarean section. Whereas methylergometrine (Methergin) is contraindicated in the preeclamptic patient, it is possible to use oxytocin (Syntocinion) during and after labour. Before performing a spinal anaesthesia, it is recommended to restrain the administration of crystalloids to a maximum of 1000 ml. Also the i.v. antihypertensive treatment should be reduced or interrupted until complete establishment of the anaesthetic. In case a general anaesthesia is to be performed, an assessment of the criteria for difficult intubation should be performed immediately prior to the induction. The technique employed should be a rapid sequence induction with intubation, while preventing a surge in blood pressure induced by the tracheal intubation. Difficulties to extubate should systematically be anticipated. It is possible to perform a loco-regional anaesthesia following an eclamptic crisis if the following conditions are met: In case of overlapping seizures and/or impaired consciousness, a general anaesthesia is recommended.

Emergency Caesarean section: best practice*

Good multidisciplinary communication is crucial to the safe management of women requiring non-elective Caesarean section. Anaesthetists should participate actively in resuscitation of the fetus in utero; relief of aortocaval compression is paramount. Epidural top-up with levobupivacaine 0.5% is the anaesthetic of choice for women who have been receiving labour epidural analgesia. If epidural top-up fails to provide bilateral light touch anaesthesia from S5 - T5, a combined spinal-epidural technique with small intrathecal dose of local anaesthetic is a useful approach. Pre-eclampsia is not a contra-indication to single-shot spinal anaesthesia, which is the technique of choice for most women presenting for Caesarean section without an epidural catheter in situ. Induction and maintenance doses of drugs for general anaesthesia should not be reduced in the belief that the baby will be harmed. Early postoperative observations are geared towards the detection of overt or covert haemorrhage.