MedPath

Comparison Between Palpatory and Preprocedural Ultrasound Guided Techniques on Performance of Spinal Anesthesia

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Pregnancy
Interventions
Procedure: Ultrasound
Device: The spinal needle
Registration Number
NCT01865955
Lead Sponsor
Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital
Brief Summary

Pre-procedural ultrasound for Spinal \& Epidural anesthesia is now being increasingly performed worldwide. Pre-procedural ultrasound assessment of the spine has been shown to facilitate the placement of epidural anesthesia in pregnant women, diagnostic lumbar punctures, performance of spinal anesthesia in non-obstetric patients and accurate identification of the interspace at which the puncture is being performed. This is especially important during spinal anesthesia, where puncture below the ending of the spinal cord is recommended for safety.

The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of spinal anesthesia between the pre-procedural ultrasound assessment of the spine and the traditional palpatory technique, in term pregnant women undergoing elective cesarean delivery. Furthermore, we aim to describe sonoanatomic features of the spine that could predict the ease of insertion of spinal anesthesia in that patient population.

We hypothesize that in term pregnant women undergoing elective cesarean delivery, pre-procedural ultrasound assessment of the spine will improve the success rate of spinal anesthesia at first attempt, compared to the traditional palpatory technique.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
100
Inclusion Criteria
  • Pregnant patients scheduled to receive spinal anesthesia for elective cesarean sections
  • ASA physical status 1 - 3
  • Written informed consent
  • Gestational age ≥ 37 weeks.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Patient's refusal.
  • Body mass index ≥ 45
  • Patient with marked spinal bony deformity (Severe scoliosis on visual inspection and previous spinal instrumentation).

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
UltrasoundUltrasoundUltrasound will be used prior to placement of the spinal needle.
UltrasoundThe spinal needleUltrasound will be used prior to placement of the spinal needle.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Spinal needle redirections15 minutes

Number of redirections needed to perform a successful spinal puncture (presence of cerebrospinal fluid). A needle redirection is defined as any change in needle insertion trajectory that did not involve complete withdrawal of the needle from the patient's skin. The first needle pass will not be considered a redirection.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Need to change to another interspace.15 minutes

Relocating the spinal needle to another interspace.

Procedure time15 minutes

Time taken to perform the spinal anesthesia, measured from insertion of the introducer needle to visualization of spinal fluid.

Pain score15 minutes

Verbal Numerical Pain Scores during the procedure (0-10, where 0 means no pain and 10 mean the worst pain imaginable).

Intervertebral level agreement3 hours

Intervertebral level agreement between L3-L4 obtained in the postoperative ultrasound assessment and the marked intervertebral level obtained pre-procedure, either by ultrasound or palpation.

Ultrasound Grading3 hours

Ultrasound Grading: The image pattern of the intervertebral space will be categorized into three grades by three study investigators not involved in providing the spinal anesthesia: Typical Image,Atypical Image or Inconclusive Image.

Needle reinsertions15 minutes

Number of needle reinsertions defined as complete withdrawal of the spinal needle to the patient's skin followed by a new attempt in the same interspace.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Mount Sinai Hospital

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath