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Dural Puncture Epidural (DPE) Technique: Efficacy and Safety Overview.

17. Juli 2026 aktualisiert von: Goran Ristev, Ohio State University

Neuraxial techniques such as lumbar epidural and combined spinal-epidural (CSE) are the most effective methods for labor analgesia and are associated with high patient satisfaction. However, standard epidurals can have failure rates and may be difficult to reliably confirm correct placement.

The dural puncture epidural (DPE) technique has been introduced to improve confirmation of epidural placement and potentially enhance analgesia. It involves identifying the epidural space, puncturing the dura with a spinal needle without injecting medication, confirming cerebrospinal fluid flow, and then placing the epidural catheter. While DPE may improve analgesia and drug spread, current evidence is limited and does not clearly demonstrate superiority over standard epidural techniques.

At The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, DPE is used routinely for labor epidurals. This observational study evaluates epidural failure rates and anesthesia provider confidence in performing DPE, while also collecting procedural details, patient characteristics, analgesic outcomes, and complications. Provider confidence is assessed using a 3-point scale along with factors influencing performance, and patient outcomes include pain relief, need for rescue dosing, and overall epidural effectiveness.

Studienübersicht

Status

Rekrutierung

Bedingungen

Detaillierte Beschreibung

This is a single-center, prospective observational study conducted at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the dural puncture epidural (DPE) technique for labor analgesia.

Neuraxial analgesia is the gold standard for pain relief during labor, with conventional epidural (CE) and combined spinal-epidural (CSE) being the most commonly used techniques. The DPE technique is a modification of the CSE approach in which the dura is intentionally punctured with a spinal needle to confirm correct epidural needle placement through visualization of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), but no medication is injected into the intrathecal space. This approach is thought to improve epidural placement accuracy, enhance analgesia, and reduce epidural failure while maintaining the safety profile of a conventional epidural. Although DPE has gained widespread clinical use, current evidence regarding its superiority over conventional epidural techniques remains limited and inconsistent.

The primary objective of the study is to determine the success rate of the DPE technique, defined by successful visualization of CSF following dural puncture. Secondary objectives include evaluating epidural success following successful and unsuccessful DPE, anesthesia provider confidence before and after the procedure, labor analgesia effectiveness, maternal satisfaction with pain management, need for rescue analgesia, delivery outcomes, neonatal outcomes (Apgar scores and NICU admission), and procedure-related complications.

The study will enroll approximately 150 term pregnant patients requesting labor epidural analgesia and anesthesia care providers with prior epidural experience. Since DPE is already the institutional standard of care, participation in the study does not alter patient management. Instead, data are collected prospectively from routine clinical care, while participating anesthesia providers complete brief surveys assessing their confidence, procedural details, and technical success.

Clinical data collected include maternal demographics, obstetric characteristics, labor analgesia outcomes, epidural performance measures, rescue analgesia requirements, delivery mode, neonatal outcomes, and complications such as post-dural puncture headache, unilateral block, accidental dural puncture, catheter-related issues, or persistent neurologic symptoms. Epidural success is defined by adequate pain relief (pain score ≤3) and appropriate bilateral sensory blockade within 20 minutes after the loading dose.

Descriptive statistics will summarize patient and procedural characteristics, while comparative analyses will evaluate differences in outcomes between successful and unsuccessful DPE procedures. Overall, this study aims to better characterize the clinical performance of the DPE technique, determine its impact on epidural success and patient outcomes, and assess anesthesia provider confidence in performing the procedure under routine clinical practice.

Studientyp

Beobachtungs

Einschreibung (Geschätzt)

150

Kontakte und Standorte

Dieser Abschnitt enthält die Kontaktdaten derjenigen, die die Studie durchführen, und Informationen darüber, wo diese Studie durchgeführt wird.

Studienkontakt

Studienorte

    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, Vereinigte Staaten, 43201
        • Rekrutierung
        • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Hospitals
        • Kontakt:
          • Goran Ristev

Teilnahmekriterien

Forscher suchen nach Personen, die einer bestimmten Beschreibung entsprechen, die als Auswahlkriterien bezeichnet werden. Einige Beispiele für diese Kriterien sind der allgemeine Gesundheitszustand einer Person oder frühere Behandlungen.

Zulassungskriterien

Studienberechtigtes Alter

  • Erwachsene
  • Älterer Erwachsener

Akzeptiert gesunde Freiwillige

N/A

Probenahmeverfahren

Nicht-Wahrscheinlichkeitsprobe

Studienpopulation

The study population consists of adult parturient women at term (37-42 weeks gestation) with singleton, vertex-presenting fetuses who request labor epidural analgesia at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Eligible participants include patients with intact membranes or rupture of membranes within 6 hours who provide informed consent. The study also includes anesthesia care providers performing the dural puncture epidural (DPE) technique as part of routine clinical care. Patients with contraindications to neuraxial anesthesia, chronic pain management, spinal abnormalities or prior spine surgery, infection, or other exclusion criteria will be excluded.

Beschreibung

Inclusion Criteria:

  • o Women with a single vertex presentation fetus at term (37-42 weeks) with intact fetal membranes or membrane rupture <6 hours previously, who request to have an epidural for labor analgesia and provide written consent for the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • o Patients being treated/managed for chronic pain.

    • Allergies or significant adverse reactions to local anesthetic or opioid medications
    • Contraindication to labor epidural placement
    • Patients with history of spine abnormalities or spine surgery.
    • Prisoners
    • Clinical signs or symptoms of infection.
    • Non-English speakers.

Studienplan

Dieser Abschnitt enthält Einzelheiten zum Studienplan, einschließlich des Studiendesigns und der Messung der Studieninhalte.

Wie ist die Studie aufgebaut?

Designdetails

Kohorten und Interventionen

Gruppe / Kohorte
Intervention / Behandlung
Dural Puncture Epidural (DPE) Cohort
All eligible anesthesia care providers and laboring patients receiving the dural puncture epidural (DPE) technique as part of routine clinical care at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Outcomes include epidural success/failure, procedural characteristics, and provider confidence.
All eligible anesthesia care providers and laboring patients receiving the dural puncture epidural (DPE) technique as part of routine clinical care at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Outcomes include epidural success/failure, procedural characteristics, and provider confidence.

Was misst die Studie?

Primäre Ergebnismessungen

Ergebnis Maßnahme
Maßnahmenbeschreibung
Zeitfenster
Success rate of dural puncture epidural (DPE) technique (CSF backflow)
Zeitfenster: During epidural placement procedure (at time of dural puncture)
To determine the proportion of parturient patients in whom successful dural puncture epidural (DPE) is achieved, defined as the presence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) backflow following intentional dural puncture using a spinal needle during epidural placement.
During epidural placement procedure (at time of dural puncture)

Sekundäre Ergebnismessungen

Ergebnis Maßnahme
Maßnahmenbeschreibung
Zeitfenster
Provider confidence score before and after DPE
Zeitfenster: Baseline (immediately before epidural placement) and immediately after completion of the DPE procedure.
Anesthesia provider confidence rated on a 3-point scale (1 = not confident, 2 = somewhat confident, 3 = very confident)
Baseline (immediately before epidural placement) and immediately after completion of the DPE procedure.
Epidural analgesia success rate
Zeitfenster: 20 minutes after completion of the epidural loading dose.
Epidural analgesia success is defined as a verbal rating scale (VRS) pain score ≤3 and bilateral sensory blockade between T10 and L1 within 20 minutes after completion of the epidural loading dose.
20 minutes after completion of the epidural loading dose.
Neonatal Apgar scores
Zeitfenster: At 1 and 5 minutes after birth
Neonatal status will be assessed using the Apgar Score, which ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating better neonatal condition. Apgar scores will be recorded at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth.
At 1 and 5 minutes after birth
Maternal labor analgesia satisfaction score
Zeitfenster: Within 24 hours after delivery.
Patient-reported satisfaction with labor analgesia, measured using the institutional satisfaction scale ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates not satisfied at all and 10 indicates completely satisfied.postpartum labor analgesia satisfaction questionnaire (or specify the validated questionnaire used, if applicable). Satisfaction scores will be reported according to the questionnaire's scoring system.
Within 24 hours after delivery.

Mitarbeiter und Ermittler

Hier finden Sie Personen und Organisationen, die an dieser Studie beteiligt sind.

Studienaufzeichnungsdaten

Diese Daten verfolgen den Fortschritt der Übermittlung von Studienaufzeichnungen und zusammenfassenden Ergebnissen an ClinicalTrials.gov. Studienaufzeichnungen und gemeldete Ergebnisse werden von der National Library of Medicine (NLM) überprüft, um sicherzustellen, dass sie bestimmten Qualitätskontrollstandards entsprechen, bevor sie auf der öffentlichen Website veröffentlicht werden.

Haupttermine studieren

Studienbeginn (Tatsächlich)

1. Oktober 2024

Primärer Abschluss (Geschätzt)

31. Januar 2028

Studienabschluss (Geschätzt)

31. Januar 2028

Studienanmeldedaten

Zuerst eingereicht

1. Juli 2026

Zuerst eingereicht, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt hat

9. Juli 2026

Zuerst gepostet (Tatsächlich)

15. Juli 2026

Studienaufzeichnungsaktualisierungen

Letztes Update gepostet (Tatsächlich)

20. Juli 2026

Letztes eingereichtes Update, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt

17. Juli 2026

Zuletzt verifiziert

1. Juni 2026

Mehr Informationen

Begriffe im Zusammenhang mit dieser Studie

Arzneimittel- und Geräteinformationen, Studienunterlagen

Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Arzneimittelprodukt

Nein

Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Geräteprodukt

Nein

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