Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32522156›Full record

Trial reportBMC anesthesiology2020

Efficacy of electrical stimulation on epidural anesthesia for cesarean section: a randomized controlled trial.

Young Sung Kim, Hyo Sung Kim, Hyerim Jeong, Chung Hun Lee, Mi Kyoung Lee, Sang Sik Choi

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC anesthesiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03443466 naunknown statusnot on this map

A Comparative Study of Success Rate, Efficacy, Safety Between Electric Stimulation-guided Epidural Catheter Placement and the Loss of Resistance Conventional Method for Cesarean Section

TypeinterventionalSponsorKorea University Guro HospitalRan2015 to 2019Enrolled40ConditionsEpidural AnesthesiaArmsEpidural electrical stimulation (EES), Loss of resistance (LOR)
NCT06055686 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

The Use of Electrical Stimulation for Determination of Epidural Catheter Placement

TypeinterventionalSponsorStanford UniversityRan2025 to 2026Enrolled50ConditionsObstetric Pain, Anesthesia, LocalArmsElectrical Epidural Stimulation Test
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Young Sung KimDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 148 Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 08308, South Korea.
Hyo Sung KimDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 148 Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 08308, South Korea.
Hyerim JeongDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 148 Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 08308, South Korea.
Chung Hun LeeDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 148 Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 08308, South Korea.
Mi Kyoung LeeDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 148 Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 08308, South Korea.
Sang Sik ChoiDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 148 Gurodong-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, 08308, South Korea. clonidine@empal.com.ORCID 0000-0002-0260-9886
Korea University Medical Center · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLoss of resistance (LOR) technique is a widely used method to identify the epidural space. However, cases of inadequate epidural anesthesia in cesarean section were frequently reported. Also, the success rate of epidural anesthesia with LOR technique varied depending on the proficiency of the practitioner. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of electrical stimulation to identify epidural spaces in cesarean section for novices or clinicians with recent gap in experience.

methodsPregnant women scheduled for elective cesarean section were randomly allocated to two groups. Groups were classified based on the methods used for identifying the epidural space: the LOR group (group L) and the LOR with epidural electrical stimulation group (group E). Clinicians with less than 10 epidural cesarean section experiences in the recent year performed epidural anesthesia for cesarean section. In the group E, a RegionalStim® conductive catheter was inserted through the Tuohy needle, and the guidewire passing through the catheter was connected to a peripheral nerve stimulator. The intensity of the stimulation was gradually increased from 0.25 mA to 1.5 mA until paresthesia was elicited and radiated. We assessed the success of epidural anesthesia (complete success, partial success or failure). Other clinical parameters including maternal satisfaction, time required for epidural anesthesia, neonatal Apgar scores, pain scores and adverse events were compared between the two groups.

resultsExcept for 6 patients who withdrew consent, 54 patients were enrolled in this study (28 for the group L and 26 for the group E). The demographic data showed no difference between the two groups. There was no adverse event resulted from electrical stimulation. The group E showed higher rate of complete success, sensitivity in finding epidural space and maternal satisfaction compared to the group L (21/26 vs. 15/28, p = 0.034, 0.96 vs. 0.68, p = 0.012 and 4.04 vs. 3.39, p = 0.02, respectively). The other clinical parameters showed no differences between the two groups.

conclusionIn addition to the conventional LOR technique, identifying epidural spaces using electrical stimulation led to better outcomes without additional risks for novices as well as clinicians with recent gap in experience.

trial registrationThis study was retrospectively registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT03443466) on February 23, 2018.

Indexed as

AdultAnesthesia, EpiduralAnesthesia, ObstetricalCesarean SectionElectric StimulationFemaleHumansPregnancyProspective StudiesYoung AdultCesarean sectionElectrical stimulationEpidural anesthesia

Identifiers

PMID32522156
PMCPMC7285553
OpenAlexW3033443247

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.