Published in:
01-05-2017 | Reports of Original Investigations
Use of colour Doppler and M-mode ultrasonography to confirm the location of an epidural catheter - a retrospective case series
Published in: Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie | Issue 5/2017
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Purpose
Epidural anesthesia and analgesia has a reported failure rate ranging from 13% to 32%. We describe a technique using colour Doppler and M-mode ultrasonography to determine the position of the epidural catheter after placement in adults.
Methods
This retrospective review included 37 adult patients who received postoperative epidural analgesia and underwent technically difficult epidural catheter placement. The demographic characteristics, type of surgery, use of ultrasonography, method of insertion, intervertebral level, and success of epidural localization using colour Doppler were noted for each patient. Pain scores on postoperative day 1 and the presence of a patchy block were also reviewed.
Results
Colour Doppler study helped to indicate the catheter’s path from the skin to the epidural space during saline injection in 33 patients (89%). Saline flow within the epidural space (catheter tip confirmation) was successfully detected with colour Doppler in 25 patients (67.5%) and with M-mode ultrasonography in 28 patients (75%). Appropriate dermatomal analgesia was noted in 35 patients (94.5%) during local anesthetic infusion.
Conclusion
Our preliminary data suggest the feasibility of using colour Doppler and M-mode ultrasonography to confirm proper epidural catheter placement.