Pulse Pressure and Post-epidural Fetal Heart Rate Changes

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Fetus or Neonate Affected by Maternal Epidural Anesthesia During Labor and Delivery

In brief

Epidural anesthesia, the most common method of pain control in labor, can contribute to alterations in maternal blood pressure and/or fetal heart rate changes. As a result, the administration of an IV fluid bolus ("preload") is standard prior to epidural placement. However, the optimal volume of preload is unknown and no clinical trials have evaluated a risk-factor based approach to dosing. Studies in the critical care, trauma, and obstetric literature have suggested that a narrow pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressures) is a marker of reduced intravascular volume status and may identify women at a higher risk for new onset fetal heart rate changes after epidural placement. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess if an increased IV fluid preload bolus among women with a narrow pulse pressure reduces the risk of new onset fetal heart rate changes after epidural placement.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT02565485
Run by
MetroHealth Medical Center
People needed
276
Starts
2015-09-01
Expected to finish
2016-11-01
Last updated by the study team
2018-07-09

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 50. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

You may not qualify if…

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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