Fracture of an epidural catheter inserted for labour analgesia.
A primiparous 28-year-old woman undergoing augmentation of labour requested epidural analgesia. During the apparently uneventful insertion, the catheter snapped and a fragment was retained in her back. The management options for labour analgesia, the optimal methods of locating the retained fragment and the indications for surgical removal are discussed.
Rajendra
P
P
Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Popham
P
P
D000328:Adult; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural; D016362:Analgesia, Obstetrical; D002404:Catheterization; D002585:Cesarean Section; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed