Anaesthesia | Obstetrics | Regional Analgesia 2: Technique - Epidural CSE Analgesia

Regional Analgesia 2: Technique - Epidural CSE Analgesia
Session Overview
Description
This session explains how to prepare for a regional analgesia for labour, how to insert an epidural catheter and how to establish and maintain labour analgesia.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Explain how to prepare for epidural analgesia
• Describe epidural catheter insertion techniques
• Interpret an aspiration test
• Give examples of epidural test and loading doses
• Explain how to maintain and monitor epidural analgesia
• Describe the basics of combined spinal-epidural (CSE) analgesia

Regional analgesia is the most effective method of pain relief for labour, and maternal request is the most common indication.

For epidural analgesia, a catheter is placed in the lumbar epidural space, through which a local anaesthetic and opioid mixture is injected.

This session explains how to prepare for a regional technique, how to insert an epidural catheter, and how to establish and maintain labour analgesia.

A combined spinal-epidural (CSE) is an alternative regional analgesia technique, and this is also demonstrated.