Pregnancy and anesthesia

BACKGROUND: Dexmedetomidine has arousal sedation and analgesic effects. We hypothesize that epidural dexmedetomidine in single-dose combined with ropivacaine improves the experience of parturient undergoing cesarean section under epidural anesthesia. This study is to investigate the effect of 0.5 µg/kg epidural dexmedetomidine combined with epidural anesthesia (EA) in parturients undergoing cesarean section. METHODS: A total of 92 parturients were randomly divided into Group R (receiveing epidural ropivacaine alone) Group RD (receiveing epidural ropivacaine with 0...

BACKGROUND: Epidural test dose for labor analgesia is controversial and varies widely in clinical practice. It is currently unclear whether using a portion of the initial dose for analgesia as the test dose delays the onset time of analgesia, compared to the traditional test dose. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-six parturients who chose epidural analgesia during labor were randomly assigned to two groups. The first dose in group L was 3 ml 1.5% lidocaine, and in the RF group was 10 ml 0...

BACKGROUND: There are only six past reports of super-refractory status epilepticus induced by spinal anesthesia. None of those patients have died. Only < 15 mg of bupivacaine was administered to all six of them and to our case. Pathophysiology ensuing such cases remains unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: A 27 year old gravida 2, para 1, mother at 37 weeks of gestation came to the operating theater for an elective cesarean section. She had no significant medical history other than controlled hypothyroidism and one episode of food allergy...

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis is an uncommon, long-lasting inflammatory condition of the female breast. It is characterized by the development of a painful breast mass that gradually increases in size. This condition is benign and its cause is unknown. It primarily affects women of childbearing age who have a history of pregnancy and breastfeeding. The main feature of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis is the presence of chronic inflammation in the breast...

BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in China's perinatal and neonatal intensive care have significantly reduced neonatal mortality, yet preterm births before 32 weeks remain the primary cause of neonatal fatalities and contribute to long-term disabilities. The prognosis of very preterm infants (VPIs) is significantly affected by factors including the intrauterine environment, delivery method and neonatal intensive care. Cesarean section which often used for preterm births has implications that are not fully understood, particularly concerning the type of anesthesia used...

BACKGROUND: Placenta accreta spectrum disorders (PASDs) increase the mortality rate for mothers and newborns over a decade. Thus, the purpose of the study is to evaluate the neonatal outcomes in emergency cesarean section (CS) and planned surgery as well as in Cesarean hysterectomy and the modified one-step conservative uterine surgery (MOSCUS). The secondary aim is to reveal the factors relating to poor neonatal outcomes. METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective study conducted between 2019 and 2020 at Tu Du Hospital, in the southern region of Vietnam...

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare pregnancy complication associated with high maternal mortality that occurs during labor or in the early postpartum period. The diagnosis of AFE is challenging because signs and symptoms are common to other obstetric complications. Early identification and management of profound coagulopathy associated with AFE is essential to improve patient survival. We present a case of a 31-year-old woman with placenta previa and clinical suspicion of AFE after cesarean section. Immediately after delivery, the parturient presented hypotension, hypoxia, coagulopathy, and severe postpartum hemorrhage...

COVID-19 is a viral illness that can cause severe respiratory symptoms. COVID-19 has caused a worldwide pandemic that necessitated many countries to perform a national lockdown. In Jordan, a lockdown was imposed by the government. During the lockdown, the hospitals were only dealing with outpatient emergency cases, urgent referrals from primary or secondary health institutions, and inpatients whose medical conditions required keeping them admitted. Elective clinics and surgeries were canceled. At the King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH), which is the only tertiary center in northern Jordan, we dealt with an unusual case of uncontrolled and advanced primary open angle glaucoma in a 38-year-old pregnant female patient...

Postpartum depression is a common mental health disorder that affects women within six months after giving birth. It is characterized by sadness, anxiety, and extreme fatigue, which can significantly impact a woman's daily functioning and ability to care for her newborn. While traditional treatments for postpartum depression include therapy and medication, recent studies have shown promising results using ketamine. We present a case of a woman with a history of depression who delivered four children by cesarean section with debilitating postpartum depression in two births and no symptoms of depression in the births where she received ketamine during delivery...

The incidence of first trimester pregnancy loss is around 10.0-20.0% of registered pregnancies. Manual vacuum aspiration is a safe, effective and acceptable option of treatment for patients diagnosed with first trimester pregnancy loss. Main disadvantage of MVA is the pain caused by manipulation of the cervix, the uterine suction and the cervical dilatation. This study showed the way how the pain and discomfort might be reduced. This was a cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at the obstetrics and Gynecological Department of Sadar hospital, Manikganj, Bangladesh from January 2017 to December 2017...

Some pregnant women have to experience non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy under general anesthesia. Our previous studies showed that maternal exposure to sevoflurane, isoflurane, propofol, and ketamine causes cognitive deficits in offspring. Histone acetylation has been implicated in synaptic plasticity. Propofol is commonly used in non-obstetric procedures on pregnant women. Previous studies in our laboratory showed that maternal propofol exposure in pregnancy impairs learning and memory in offspring by disturbing histone acetylation...

Cardiac arrest after acute pulmonary edema in pregnancy is an uncommon event but one with a potentially disastrous outcome. We report the case of a pregnant woman with preeclampsia who presented with rapidly advancing pulmonary edema and subsequently went into cardiac arrest on arrival at the operating room. A perimortem cesarean section was performed in addition to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and anesthesia. These simultaneous treatments resulted in excellent maternal and neonatal outcomes. Moreover, therapeutic brain hypothermia was performed...

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), also known as Devic disease, poses unique challenges in obstetrical anesthesia, with limited research available. This case report presents the anesthetic management of a 43-year-old gravida 2 para 1 (G2P1) woman with NMO undergoing labor induction at 39 weeks of gestation. Having received uneventful epidural labor analgesia in her first pregnancy, she faced the delicate decision of neuraxial anesthesia in light of her NMO diagnosis, which was made following her initial pregnancy...

A breastfeeding 29-year-old woman who gave birth to her first child three months ago presented at the family doctor's appointment with a diverse array of symptoms, including vertigo, blurred vision, right lower limb weakness, and abdominal allodynia. She has a history of obesity and anxiety. The patient had a pre-pregnancy history of several visits to the family doctor. She takes folic acid, vitamin B12, iodine, and omega-3 supplements. The diverse symptomatology, the patient's insistence on seeking medical care, and the history of anxiety pose significant hurdles in arriving at a timely diagnosis...

This case report underscores the effective implementation of a delivery plan for a pregnant patient, focusing on a successful case study where a cesarean section, preceded by the pre-treatment of intravenous plasma-derived C1 inhibitor, resulted in the delivery of a healthy baby. The proposed delivery plan offers a systematic approach to managing hereditary angioedema during pregnancy. It recommends opting for delivery at an academic center equipped with high-risk obstetric care, obstetric anesthesia, and a level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit...

In recent times, research has been conducted on the use of hypnosis during childbirth preparation and its effects on pain, fear, and overall childbirth experience. The main objective of this study was to analyze the published scientific literature on the use of hypnotherapy during childbirth preparation and the outcomes achieved during labor. A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 protocol, with a search performed on the PubMed, Cinahl, Scopus, and WOS databases. Studies meeting inclusion criteria, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), were evaluated for methodological quality using the PEDro scale...

INTRODUCTION: The management of gastroschisis remains problematic in low- and middle-income countries with high perioperative mortality. The objective of this work was to make an initial assessment of our management of gastroschisis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a monocentric and cross-sectional study including all newborns with gastroschisis between January 2017 and December 2021 in the Pediatric Surgery and Anesthesia Resuscitation Department of the Aristide Le Dantec University Hospital Center from Dakar...

UNLABELLED: This narrative review of the 2023 Gerard W. Ostheimer lecture presented at the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology 2023 annual meeting summarizes 2022 literature relevant to obstetric anesthesiologists. ANTENATAL STUDIES: Neonatal morbidity is reduced with antenatal maternal buprenorphine compared with methadone for treatment of opioid use disorder. Antenatal pregnancy allergy testing is safe and feasible. ANALGESIA AND ANESTHESIA STUDIES: Intrathecal (IT) 3% chloroprocaine for cervical cerclage results in faster sensory block resolution and discharge readiness compared with bupivacaine...

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, in pregnant women is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The development of reference intervals for cardiovascular responses using exercising testing to measure oxygen utilisation (V̇O2 ) with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), and distances walked using the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT), may be promising methods to assess and stratify pregnant women regarding their risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, to encourage exercise during pregnancy, and to improve exercise prescriptions during pregnancy...

The opioid epidemic in the United States has led to an increasing number of pregnant patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) presenting to obstetric units. Caring for this complex patient population requires an interdisciplinary approach involving obstetricians, anesthesiologists, addiction medicine physicians, psychiatrists, and social workers. The management of acute pain in the parturient with OUD can be challenging due to several factors, including respiratory depression, opioid tolerance, and opioid-induced hyperalgesia...