Administering Labor Analgesia Under General Anesthesia in an Intellectually Disabled Patient.

Abstract

Maternal intellectual disability presents anesthetic challenges.1 A 19-year-old primigravida with significant intellectual disability presented with preterm premature rupture of membranes at 31 4/7 weeks of gestation and underwent induction of labor for chorioamnionitis. She was unable to tolerate bedside epidural placement. Intrapartum general anesthesia allowed for epidural catheter placement that provided adequate labor analgesia for a vaginal delivery. This report describes a unique approach to providing labor analgesia in the intellectually disabled patient.