International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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A 31-year-old woman gravida 4 para 2 who had received epidural analgesia during labour (duration of catheterization 6.5 h) was readmitted 8 days later with a complaint of flu-like symptoms, severe backache and numbness of her thighs. She had a sensory deficit from T4 to L1 and was unable to stand without support. The severe backache prevented adequate assessment of motor function. ⋯ Culture of the drained pus grew Streptococcus pneumoniae. She made a complete recovery and was discharged home on the tenth day. This case illustrates the problem of diagnosing serious postnatal problems that arise following the now fashionable early discharge from hospital.
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Apr 1997
Breath pentane concentrations during labor and the effect of epidural analgesia on the pentane concentration.
Increased lipid peroxidation has been observed in pregnancy and particularly in preeclampsia. Pentane, a by-product of lipid peroxidation, can be measured in exhaled breath, and its measurement is considered a non-invasive method of assessing lipid peroxidation in vivo. We measured pentane levels in the breath of 36 healthy parturient women and examined the effect of epidural analgesia on the pentane level. ⋯ The breath pentane level was higher during labor (4.88 parts per billion [p.p.b.], 95% confidence interval 3.25-6.51 p.p.b.) than before the induction of labor (3.10 p.p.b., 95% confidence interval 2.01-4.19 p.p.b.). There was a significant decrease in the pentane level after the institution of epidural analgesia (2.27 p.p.b., 95% confidence interval 1.43-3.11 p.p.b.). Our results suggest that labor may be accompanied by an increase in lipid peroxidation, and epidural analgesia reverses this increase.