Procalcitonin levels in pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: The utility of procalcitonin to identify obstetric sepsis is unknown.

Objective: To calculate the mean (range) procalcitonin in pregnancy among healthy women not in labor (group 1), healthy women in labor (group 2), and women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) without clinical chorioamnionitis (group 3).

Search Strategy: NLM PubMed, Elsevier Embase, and Wiley Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception to February 21, 2022.

Difficulty in Advancing Flexible Epidural Catheters When Establishing Labor Analgesia: An Observational Open-Label Randomized Trial.

Background: While flexible epidural catheters reduce the risk of paresthesia and intravascular cannulation, they may be more challenging to advance beyond the tip of a Tuohy needle. This may increase placement time, number of attempts, and possibly complications when establishing labor analgesia. This study investigated the ability to advance flexible epidural catheters through different epidural needles from 2 commonly used, commercially available, epidural kits.