1. Neuraxial Anesthesia & Local Anesthetic Dosing Flashcards
adult spinal cord end
L1-L2
conus medullaris
end of spinal cord
cauda equina
nerve root bundle that begins at the conus medullaris
cauda equina innervates
legs and bladder
adult dural sac end
S2
kid spinal cord end
L2-L3
kid dural sac end
S3
layers from skin to CSF 7
1 skin 2 supraspinous ligament 3 interspinous ligament 4 ligamentum flavum 5 epidural space 6 dura mater 7 subarachnoid space
lordosis (convex) is where in spine
cervical 7
lumbar 5
kyphosis (concave) is where in spine
thoracic 12
kyphosis
posterior curvature of spine
lordosis
anterior curvature of the spine
scoliosis
lateral curvature of the spine
how many cervical vertebrae
7
how many thoracic vertebrae
12
how many lumbar vertebrae
5
how many sacral vertebrae
5
how many coccygeal vertebrae
4
how many total vertebrae
33
how many cervical nerve roots
8 pairs
how many thoracic nerve roots
12 pairs
how many lumbar nerve roots
5 pairs
how many sacral nerve roots
5 pairs
how many coccygeal nerve roots
1 pair
how many pairs of spinal nerve roots total
31
what are nerve roots covered by
dural sheath
why is it important that nerve roots are covered by dural sheath? 2
- roots close to spinal cord float in dural sac and pushed away by advancing needle
- nerve blocks close to intervertebral foramen carry risk of subdural injection
what is the most common starting insertion site for a spinal or lumbar epidural?
L3-4 interspace
L4-5 is acceptable; L2-3 may be considered if lower attempts fail
tuffiers line
line between superior aspects of iliac crests and estimates L4 body
what is the T10 (umbilicus) dermatome needed for? 3
1 spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD)
2 inguinal surgery
3 testicular surgery
what is the T4 (nipple) dermatome needed for?
c-section
why is it convenient that T4 is the most dependent area of the spine in the supine position?
lay pts down after spinal then it will go to the correct height usually
it helps prevent the spread of local anesthetic above T4 and prevents high spinal
T5-L1
vasomotor tone
what happens when T5-L1 are blocked with spinal or epidural
vasodilation and hypotension
“sympathectomy”
nearly all pts with spinals in supine position will have a degree of sympathectomy
are sympathectomies more common with spinals or epidurals?
spinals
what is the earliest sign of sympathectomy?
nausea and vomiting
T1-T4
cardiac accelerator fibers
what can happen if the block rises above T4?
significant bradycardia bc you are blocking the sympathetics to the heart
C3-C5
phrenic nerve
if the block goes above this then the pt will go apneic
C6-C8
hands/fingers
the pt will experience tingling/numbness or weakness in their fingers
what do you do if they start to get numbness in their fingers?
place the pt in reverse trendelenburg
T4-T5
carina
T6
xyphoid process
T7
inferior border of scapulae
T8-L1
kidney
S2-S4
bladder
sympathetic blockade
blocking the nerves up to that level will have the ability to produce hypotension and bradycardia
sensory blockade
blocking nerves up to that level will produce an absence of pain but NOT of movement/touch
motor blockade
blocking nerves up to that level will block the pts ability to move those limbs
levels of sympathetic vs sensory vs motor blockade
sympathetic is two levels higher than sensory
sensory is two levels higher than motor
nerves are more easily blocked if they are: 2
1 smaller
2 myelinated
differential blockade order from easiest to hardest block
autonomic>sensory>motor
what is the goal of an epidural?
to stop the needle in the epidural space and not puncture the dura
what type of needle is used for an epidural?
17ga tuohy needle
4 epidural advantages
1 we can give analgesia as long as necessary
2 more control over analgesic level
3 less profound sympathectomy
4 better preservation of motor function is possible (less dense block)
disadvantages to epidural
1 not as dense as spinal (not as comfortable if they have to do a c-section)
2 high propability of PDPH (headache) if needle puncture
3 onset of action is longer for epidurals (several minutes)
4 more potential for local anesthetic toxicity with epidural
walking epidural
epidural where it is either:
only narcs
lower dose local
-it preserves motor function, good for post op pain control
spinal anesthesia description (3)
1 dura punctured
2 single shot of drug given (preservative free)
3 smaller needles are used
two spinal pencil point needles
whitacre
sprotte
sprotte
whitacre needle
smallest opening
CSF aspiration slow and hard
sprotte needle
longer opening
CSF aspiration easier
higher chance of injecting epidurally
spinal cutting type needle
quincke
quincke
cuts through ligaments better but makes larger hole in dura
what is the 18ga introducer needle used for
the spinal needle can be placed through the introducer to guide it to the correct spot
advantage of introducer needle
much less bending of spinal needle
commonly used if spinal needle is smaller than 22ga
22ga spinal needle advantage and disadvantage
advantage-
18ga introducer not needed
disadvantage-
higher risk of spinal headache
common uses for the 22ga spinal needle
elderly pts (lower risk of headache) obese pts
advantage to 25ga spinal needle
way less likely for spinal headache
what is the most common size spinal needle for adults?
25ga
disadvantage to 25ga spinal needle
more likely to bend when passing ligaments ** used with introducer
advantage to 27ga spinal needle
smallest hole in dura and least likely headache
disadvantage to 27ga spinal needle
highest chance of bending through ligaments
when is the 27ga spinal needle used?
CSE
combined spinal epidural where it is placed through the espocan needle
continuous spinal anesthesia
catheter placed into intrathecal space
problem with continuous spinal anesthesia
microcatheter use for continuous spinal anesthesia is contraindicated due to pooling of local anesthetic
what is the risk associated with microcatheters
neurotoxicity and cauda equina syndrome
pooling of local anesthetic
practical use of continuous spinal anesthesia
problem: accidentally wet tap someone during epidural placement
fix: just thread epidural catheter into the intrathecal space through touhy needle and give lower doses
4 management steps of continuous spinal anesthesia
1 sterile technique critical
2 catheter threaded 2-3cm intrathecal space
3 analgesia is usually maintained with local anesthetic boluses NOT infusion
4 appropriate dosing intervals are anywhere from 45-90 min
what should you do before and after each continous spinal injection
flush with previously aspirated CSF after each injection
baricity
how dense (heavy) the drug is compared to CSF and the density determines whether the drug will sink or rise
3 types of baricity
hyperbaric
hypobaric
isobaric
hyperbaric
spinal drug is denser than CSF and drug will sink
how to make drug hyperbaric
adding an equal volume of 10% dextrose/glucose to the local anesthetic
where does a hyperbaric spinal move when placed in supine pt
the hyperbaric drug tends to move to T4 because it is the most dependent area of the spine
how do we know that glucose must interfere with the hyperbaric drugs absorbtion?
shorter time to peak concentration
shorter duration of action than plain local anesthetics
what happens if you allow pt to remain sitting after placing a hyperbaric spinal?
saddle block anesthetizes:
sacral nerves
buttocks
perineal
thighs
what does a saddle block anesthetize?
sacral nerves
buttocks
perineal area
inner thighs
what types of procedures are saddle blocks used for
genitourinary
2nd stage labor pain
hypobaric drug
spinal drug is lighter than CSF and drug will rise
how do you make a drug hypobaric
add sterile water
how much sterile water do you add to a drug to make it hypobaric
depends on source!!
larger volume
3mL per 1mL
1mL per 1mg
what is the most common use for a hypobaric spinal?
hip surgery
pt in lateral position with operative hip up
isobaric spinal drug definition
spinal drug has the same specific gravity as CSF and will remain at the level of injection
how do you make a drug isobaric?
add equal volume of CSF or normal saline to the local
does baricity apply to spinals and epidurals?
no just spinals
how long until the baricity of the spinal settles?
10-15min
then shouldn’t rise or sink based on position
CSE
combined spinal epidural technique
CSE technique (6 steps)
1 touhy needle placed in epidural space
2 27ga spinal needle through touhy into the intrathecal space
3 perform spinal block into intrathetcal space
4 remove spinal needle
5 thread epidural catheter through touhy needle
6 remove touhy needle
what is a common needle set for the CSE?
espocan kit
17 ga tuohy needle with hole
27ga spinal needle
advantages CSE 3
1 more dense block than epidural
2 decr risk of PDPH
3 postop analgesia with epidural w/o using duramorph
disadvantage to the CSE
can’t perform a test dose through the epidural catheter bc the pt is already numb from the spinal
dural puncture epidural technique 5
1 17ga epidural needle placed
2 spinal needle though tuohy and punctures dura
3 spinal needle removed without dosing
4 epidural catheter placed into epidural space
5 some of the local anesthetic leaks into the intrathecal space through the small hole
advantages to dural puncture epidural technique 3
1 faster sacral onset
2 greater sacral spread of local
3 lower incidence of unilateral block
disadvantage dural puncture epidural technique
small chance of post dural puncture headache
epidural summary points
longer analgesia possible
more control of analgesic level
more gradual, less profound sympathectomy
less dense block