Outcomes of Neuraxial Anesthetic Technique on the Trial of Labor After Cesarean (TOLAC)

Phase 4

Completed

Conditions: Complications; Cesarean Section
Labor Pain
Pregnancy

Interventions: Drug: Combined spinal and epidural anesthesia
Drug: Epidural anesthesia

Registration Number: NCT02105558

Lead Sponsor: The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Brief Summary: To compare the effects of epidural versus combined spinal and epidural (CSE) anesthesia on the success of Trial of Labor After Cesarean (TOLAC).

Detailed Description: Though it has been said, "once a cesarean, always a cesarean," the current medical stance has changed and now encourages vaginal birth after cesaren (VBAC) in a select population of patients. VBAC has several advantages over a repeat cesarean including decreased recovery period, decreased risk of infection, avoidance of major abdominal surgery, and lessened blood loss. Predictors for success of VBAC include previous spontaneous vaginal birth, singleton pregnancy, and previous low transverse scar for C-section delivery. TOLAC is a reasonable option for select pregnant women and is associated with a 74% likelihood of VBAC. Risk factors for failure of VBAC include labor dystocia, advanced maternal age, maternal obesity, fetal macrosomia, gestational age (GA) \>40 weeks, short inter pregnancy interval, and preeclampsia.

While success of VBAC is associated with fewer complications, failure of VBAC may be associated with increased complications. A major concern for VBAC is the possibility for uterine rupture, which may result in hysterectomy and intrapartum fetal hypoxia/death. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidelines, effective regional analgesia should not be expected to mask the signs and symptoms of uterine rupture, particularly because the most common sign of rupture is fetal heart tracing abnormalities. Adequate pain relief achieved with either CSE or epidurals may even encourage more women to opt for VBAC. The decision to proceed with TOLAC should occur only after appropriate discussion of the risks and benefits has occurred between the patient and her obstetrician and as long as no other contraindications exist. The final decision should be left up to the patient. There is no reliable way to predict risk of uterine rupture, but it may be associated with classical and low vertical uterine scars, induction of labor, and increased number of prior cesarean deliveries and risk may be decreased by previous vaginal birth. Other aspects of VBAC versus repeat cesarean pertaining to the fetus to consider include respiratory function, mother-infant contact, and initiation of breastfeeding, which may be delayed in cesarean deliveries.

There is very little research concerning the effects of CSEs and epidurals on women undergoing TOLAC.There have been multiple studies comparing CSE and epidurals on nulliparous and multiparous women, but none have been done specifically on patients undergoing TOLAC. According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) practice guidelines for obstetric anesthesia "nonrandomized comparative studies suggest that epidural analgesia may be used in a trial of labor for previous cesarean delivery patients without adversely affecting the incidence of vaginal delivery. Randomized comparison of epidural versus other anesthetic techniques were not found." They agree that neuraxial techniques improve the likelihood of vaginal delivery for patients attempting VBAC and suggest neuraxial catheter be placed in event of operative delivery. Because no study to date has compared CSEs and epidurals and their effects on the success of VBAC, this study aims to further investigate this arena.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: Female

Target Recruitment: 46

Inclusion Criteria

all patients meeting ACOG guidelines for TOLAC
at least one previous elective cesarean delivery
<40 weeks gestational age (GA)
vertex singleton pregnancy with use of continuous fetal monitoring

Exclusion Criteria

Patient refusal of regional anesthetic or with contraindication for regional anesthesia
BMI >40
associated comorbidities such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, abnormal placentation

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Combined spinal and epidural anesthesia	Combined spinal and epidural anesthesia	Trial of labor after cesarean with a combined spinal and epidural (CSE) for anesthesia: the epidural space will be located with a 17g Tuohy needle and dural puncture performed with 25g Pencan needle via needle-through-needle technique. Spinal injection of 2ml 0.2% ropivacaine will then be performed and spinal needle removed. An epidural catheter will then be placed and test dose performed with 3 ml of 1.5% lidocaine with 5ug/ml of epinephrine. Maintenance dose will be via an epidural pump using 0.2% ropivacaine at a rate of 12 ml/hr.
Epidural anesthesia	Epidural anesthesia	Trial of labor after cesarean with an epidural for anesthesia: Epidurals will be placed in a sterile fashion using a 17g Tuohy needle to locate the epidural space via loss-of-resistance to saline at the lumbar vertebral level. 3 ml of 1.5% lidocaine with 5ug/ml of epinephrine will then be used for test dose to exclude intrathecal or intravenous placement of the catheter. Epidural solution composed of 5ml of 0.2% ropivacaine and another 5 ml of 0.2% ropivacaine will then be administered.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Participants With Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)	at the time of delivery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Time From Regional Anesthesia to Delivery	from regional anesthesia to delivery (about 86 - 1205 minutes)
Time From Second Stage of Labor to Delivery	from the second stage of labor to delivery (about 6 to 174 minutes)	The second stage of delivery begins after the cervix has dilated to 10 centimeters (cm).
Success of Analgesia as Indicated by Pain Score Assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	24 hours after regional anesthesia	Pain score was assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS) with a scale of 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating a higher level of pain. Pain scores less than 3 are considered to indicate successful analgesia.
Childbirth Experience as Assessed by a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	24 hours after regional anesthesia	Childbirth experience was assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS) with a scale of 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating a better childbirth experience.
Maternal Satisfaction as Assessed by a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	24 hours after regional anesthesia	Maternal Satisfaction was assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS) with a scale of 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating a higher level of satisfaction.
Neonatal Outcome as Assessed by (APGAR) Score	5 minutes after birth	Apgar score is a method to quickly summarize the health of newborn children. The Apgar scale is determined by evaluating the newborn baby on five simple criteria \[Appearance (skin color), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity (muscle tone), and Respiration\]. Each crtieria is rated on a scale from 0 to 2, then summing up the five values thus obtained. The resulting Apgar total score ranges from zero to 10. Scores of 7 and above are generally normal, 4 to 6 fairly low, and 3 and below are generally regarded as critically low.