Your next patient will receive a dural puncture epidural for labor. According to a recent study, which of the following is MOST likely to be lower in this patient, compared with a similar patient receiving lumbar epidural anesthesia without dural puncture?
There have been many studies comparing lumbar epidural anesthesia, combined spinal-epidural anesthesia, and dural puncture epidural. Dural puncture epidural differs from combined spinal-epidural anesthesia in that no intrathecal medication is injected after the dural puncture is performed, but an epidural catheter is left in place. The benefits of combined spinal-epidural anesthesia over epidural analgesia have mainly been faster onset time and a reduced need for catheter replacement. The authors of a recent study postulated that, as dural puncture epidural involves dural puncture, similar to combined spinal-epidural anesthesia, dural puncture epidural also may have a lower catheter replacement rate compared with lumbar epidural analgesia.
In this single-center, retrospective study, investigators...
