Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia

Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia

Epidural anesthetics are administered in the fat-filled epidural space, the outermost part of the spinal canal. This technique is commonly employed for pain management and anesthesia during lower abdomen and pelvis surgeries or labor and delivery.
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Nutrition and Exercise in Critical Illness (NEXIS) trial: randomized trial of combined in-bed cycling and intravenous amino acid plus usual care.

American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine·2026

Same author

Deferring tracheal extubation to the postanesthesia care unit.

Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie·2026

Same author

Effect of PEEP titration on the incidence of elevated driving pressure in laparoscopic bariatric surgery: a randomized superiority trial.

BMC anesthesiology·2026

Same author

High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C and Mortality and Organ Dysfunction in Severe Burn Injury: The VICTORY Randomized Clinical Trial.

JAMA·2026

Same author

Continuous erector spinae plane block for robotic-assisted thoracic surgery in lung cancer: a dual-center retrospective propensity-score weighted cohort study.

Brazilian journal of anesthesiology (Elsevier)·2026

Same author

Systemic Heparinization After Neuraxial Anesthesia in Vascular Surgery: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.

Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy

Published on: January 31, 2025

Sensitivity and specificity of waveform analysis for assessing postoperative epidural function.

Carl Chauvin¹, Gregory Klar¹, Wilma M Hopman²

¹Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Queen's University, 76 Stuart Street, Kingston, Ontario K7L 2V7, Canada.

Journal of Clinical Anesthesia

|December 18, 2021

Summary

Epidural waveform analysis (EWA) accurately assesses thoracic epidural catheter function postoperatively, showing high sensitivity and specificity. This method offers reliable inter-rater agreement, aiding in clinical assessment when sensory block is uncertain.

Keywords:

Epidural assessment Epidural failure Epidural waveform analysis Neuraxial analgesia Postoperative pain management Thoracic epidural

More Related Videos

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain PPOP

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain PPOP

Published on: January 27, 2010

Chronic Cranial Window Technique for Repeated Cortical Recordings During Anesthesia in Pigs

Chronic Cranial Window Technique for Repeated Cortical Recordings During Anesthesia in Pigs

Published on: June 6, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy

Published on: January 31, 2025

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain PPOP

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain PPOP

Published on: January 27, 2010

Chronic Cranial Window Technique for Repeated Cortical Recordings During Anesthesia in Pigs

Chronic Cranial Window Technique for Repeated Cortical Recordings During Anesthesia in Pigs

Published on: June 6, 2025

Area of Science:

Anesthesiology
Pain Management
Medical Device Technology

Background:

Thoracic epidural catheters are crucial for perioperative analgesia.
Accurate assessment of epidural catheter functionality is vital in the immediate postoperative period.
Current assessment methods may have limitations, necessitating improved diagnostic tools.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of epidural waveform analysis (EWA) for thoracic epidural catheter functionality.
To determine the inter-rater reliability of EWA waveform interpretation.
To establish EWA as a reliable tool for postoperative epidural assessment.

Main Methods:

Prospective diagnostic accuracy cohort study in a university hospital post-anesthetic care unit.
EWA tracings were recorded from thoracic epidural catheters in 84 adult surgical patients.
EWA results were compared with clinical sensory block assessments (ice test).

Main Results:

EWA demonstrated high sensitivity (89%) and specificity (86%) in assessing functional epidurals.
Positive predictive value was 98%, and negative predictive value was 43%.
Inter-rater reliability for EWA interpretation was robust, with an intra-class correlation of 0.870.

Conclusions:

Epidural waveform analysis is a valuable tool for assessing thoracic epidural catheter position and function postoperatively.
EWA exhibits high diagnostic accuracy and strong inter-rater reliability.
EWA serves as a useful adjunct for evaluating epidural functionality, especially when clinical assessment is challenging.