Abstract
Abstract
Background: External cephalic version (ECV) can be a helpful procedure in attempts to decrease the overall cesarean section rate. ECV involves the application of external pressure to the pregnant woman’s abdomen in attempts to turn the fetus to a vertex presentation and allow for subsequent vaginal delivery. Tocolytics are routinely used to increase ECV success rates, and neuraxial analgesia has been presented as another adjunct to increase overall success. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to evaluate the effect neuraxial analgesia may have on ECV success rates.
Methods: Patients scheduled for ECV between the dates of January 2020 and September 2021 were reviewed. Data collected includes patient age, BMI, gestational age, success of ECV and use of neuraxial analgesia (epidural anesthesia).
Results: Of the 21 patients, 6 (29%) were found to be vertex on their scheduled ECV date. Six (29%) patients who did not have an epidural failed ECV. Four (19%) patients who had an epidural failed ECV. Five (24%) patients who had an epidural had a successful ECV. Interestingly, no patients had a successful ECV without an epidural.
Conclusion: No attempts at ECV were successful without an epidural in the 21 patient charts reviewed. Further evaluation through expanded chart review to increase the sample size would allow for meaningful statistical evaluation of this salient finding.
Recommended Citation
Dreibelbis S, Schnatz PF, Newton E. Evaluating the Effect of Neuraxial Analgesia on External Cephalic Version Success. Transformative Medicine. 2022; 1(1):27-29. doi: https://doi.org/10.54299/tmed/snqq1991.