Epidural catheter migration during labor: a comparison between standard and Epi-Guard fixation.

摘要

Epidural catheter migration is a recognized problem during labor analgesia, with movement after insertion a cause of inadequate analgesia. The aim of our study was to compare the amount of catheter movement using the Epi-Guard fixation device (ED) with a standard dressing (SD).Women in labor requesting epidural analgesia were recruited to this ethics-approved randomized controlled study. Funding for all parts of the study was provided by the Department of Anesthesia Research Fund. Catheters were inserted 4-6 cm into the epidural space and the marking at the skin recorded. All epidurals were placed in the sitting position. After insertion, the epidural catheter was withdrawn to the desired depth and subjects were asked to sit upright in a relaxed posture before the catheter was secured at that position. For the SD group, one partial loop of the catheter was created and a transparent, occlu-sive dressing (Tegaderm~TM) was applied.