Ultrasound-Assisted Technology Versus the Conventional Landmark Location Method in Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery in Obese Parturients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

(Anesth Analg. 2019;129(1):155–161) For cesarean deliveries, spinal anesthesia is typically performed with the use of manual palpation. However, some patients present challenges to this method, particularly patients with imperceptible surface landmarks or those who are obese. Because spinal anesthesia placement may be more difficult in these patients, there is an increased likelihood of postdural puncture headache, paresthesia, or spinal hematoma. It has been proposed that preprocedure ultrasound scanning can assist care providers with spinal anesthesia placement, but not much research has been done on this subject. These investigators conducted their study to determine whether lateral-positioned ultrasound scanning would result in more precise needle insertions than a blind manual palpation technique for obese patients.