NCT03317626

Gravity Flow Technique to Validate Proper Location of Epidural Needle Tip

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (actual)
• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years – 49 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Epidural analgesia for childbirth may fail to provide adequate pain relief. At NYULMC, to maximize the likelihood that epidural analgesia will work well, the gravity flow technique is used when performing epidural procedures. The gravity flow technique is not well known, and is therefore used in only a few hospitals. The purpose of this study is to quantify the reliability of the gravity flow technique to accurately validate the position of the epidural needle tip when performing lumbar epidural analgesia in laboring women.

Detailed description

The purpose of this study is to quantify the reliability of the gravity flow technique to accurately validate the position of the epidural needle tip when performing lumbar epidural analgesia in laboring women. This gravity flow technique was first described 26 years ago in 1991, and has been at NYU Langone for 15 years, since 2002. The technique has not been formally studied and this study is designed to enable assessment of the success rate of the gravity flow technique.

Conditions

• Epidural Anesthesia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DIAGNOSTIC_TEST	Cold Stimulus (ice) Test	Standard of care epidural will be inserted. The study procedure will be to use a cold stimulus (ice) to assess the subjects for hypesthesia the dermatomes of the lower abdomen at 15 minutes and if necessary at 30 minutes after the epidural is inserted. Hypesthesia to cold will be taken a sign of successful lumbar epidural block.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-09-20
• Primary completion: 2018-02-05
• Completion: 2018-02-05
• First posted: 2017-10-23
• Last updated: 2019-11-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States