Superiority of Epidural Placement Technique Using EpiFaith Syringe

Superiority of Epidural Placement Technique Using EpiFaith® Syringe Versus Conventional Glass Syringe in Laboring Paturients

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of EpiFaith® syringe on the establishment of successful epidural labor analgesia, change of elapsed time for identification of epidural space, and learning curve of CA-1 residents.

We hypothesize that EpiFaith® syringe, in comparison with conventional glass syringe, will result in a similar overall success rate for catheter placement, but with a larger reduction in change of elapsed time for identification of epidural space and catheter placement of each practitioner. Moreover, we hypothesize that the cumulative learning summary curve using EpiFaith® syringe will be higher than conventional glass syringe in resident trainees, which will show the possible value of EpiFaith® syringe for teaching and learning obstetric epidural anesthesia.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Females 18 years of age and older at screening
• Request labor epidural analgesia
• Able to give informed consent to participate in the study
• American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class Ⅰ to Ⅲ health status
• BMI ≤ 40 kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria:

• BMI > 40 kg/m2; any contraindication to neuraxial anesthesia (coagulopathy, uncorrected hypovolemia, increased intracranial pressure, or local skin infection)
• Cardiac disease history, marked spinal deformity, previous spinal surgery, or impalpable anatomical landmarks
• Any allergy to bupivacaine or fentanyl