Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology Consensus Statement: Monitoring Recommendations for Prevention and Detection of Respiratory Depression Associated With Administration of Neuraxial Morphine for Cesarean Delivery Analgesia.

The majority of women undergoing cesarean delivery in the United States receive neuraxial morphine, the most effective form of postoperative analgesia for this surgery. Current American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) recommend respiratory monitoring standards following neuraxial morphine administration in the general surgical population that may be too frequent and intensive when applied to the healthy obstetric population receiving a single dose of neuraxial morphine at the time of surgery. There is limited evidence to support or guide the optimal modality, frequency, and duration of respiratory monitoring in the postoperative cesarean delivery patient receiving a single dose of neuraxial morphine.

Spinal Cord Trauma During Subarachnoid Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery: A Case Report.

Spinal cord trauma can occur during subarachnoid blockade and can result in significant morbidity for the patient. Careful attention to lumbar insertion level is essential to prevent injury.

Continuous spinal anesthesia and analgesia in obstetrics.

The development of the technique of continuous spinal anesthesia as it relates to the obstetric population is recounted. The advantages and disadvantages of continuous spinal anesthesia are examined, currently available catheters and kits are reviewed, and strategies for the management of continuous spinal techniques for labor analgesia and surgical anesthesia are discussed. Continuous spinal anesthesia may have particular value over other regional techniques in several specific clinical circumstances.

A randomized, double-masked, multicenter comparison of the safety of continuous intrathecal labor analgesia using a 28-gauge catheter versus continuous epidural labor analgesia.

Background: Continuous intrathecal labor analgesia produces rapid analgesia or anesthesia and allows substantial flexibility in medication choice. The US Food and Drug Administration, in 1992, removed intrathecal microcatheters (27-32 gauge) from clinical use after reports of neurologic injury in nonobstetric patients. This study examined the safety and efficacy of a 28-gauge intrathecal catheter for labor analgesia in a prospective, randomized, multicenter trial.