Grand Rounds

CMECNE

Can Maternal Pulse Pressure be Used to Determine the Need for Fluid Bolus Prior to Epidural?

Learning Objectives and CME/Disclosure Information

This activity is intended for healthcare providers delivering care to women and their families.

After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

1. Discuss the study design that was used to test the hypothesis if narrow pulse pressure can be used to determine fluid bolus amount prior to epidural anesthesia
2. List the benefits of using a larger fluid bolus in pregnant women with a narrow pulse pressure on admission to labor floor

Estimated time to complete activity: 0.25 hours

Faculty:

Susan J. Gross, MD, FRCSC, FACOG, FACMG
President and CEO, The ObG Project

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) requires faculty, planners, and others in control of educational content to disclose all their financial relationships with ineligible companies. All identified conflicts of interest (COI) are thoroughly vetted and mitigated according to PIM policy. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high quality accredited continuing education activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of an ineligible company.

The PIM planners and others have nothing to disclose. The OBG Project planners and others have nothing to disclose.

Faculty: Susan J. Gross, MD, receives consulting fees from Cradle Genomics, and has financial interest in The ObG Project, Inc.

Planners and Managers: The PIM planners and managers, Trace Hutchison, PharmD, Samantha Mattiucci, PharmD, CHCP, Judi Smelker-Mitchek, MBA, MSN, RN, and Jan Schultz, MSN, RN, CHCP have nothing to disclose.

Method of Participation and Request for Credit

Fees for participating and receiving CME credit for this activity are as posted on The ObG Project website. During the period from 12/01/2022 through 12/01/2024, participants must read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures and study the educational activity.

If you wish to receive acknowledgment for completing this activity, please complete the test and evaluation. Upon registering and successfully completing the test with a score of 100% and the activity evaluation, your certificate will be made available immediately.

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and The ObG Project. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician Continuing Medical Education

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Continuing Nursing Education

The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 0.2 contact hours.

Designated for 0.1 contact hours of pharmacotherapy credit for Advance Practice Registered Nurses.

Read Disclaimer & Fine Print

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Epidural anesthesia can be associated with maternal hypotension and consequent changes in fetal status
- Fetal heart rate (FHR) can be abnormal in 14-30% of cases following an epidural
No set guidelines exist as to necessity of a fluid bolus
Literature exists that low maternal pulse pressure, indicating hypovolemia, may be a helpful guide in determining requirement for fluid bolus
Lappen et al. (Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2017) sought to determine whether increasing the IV fluid bolus volume at the time of epidural placement in women with narrow pulse pressure would reduce adverse fetal cardiac events

METHODS:

Randomized controlled trial (RCT)
Inclusion Criteria
- Normotensive
- Presented for either spontaneous or induction of labor
- Narrow pulse pressure (systolic BP–diastolic BP) <45 mm Hg on admission
- Nonanomalous fetus
Eligibility for randomization at epidural request if within 6 hours of admission and FHR category 1
Patients were randomized into 2 arms, both receiving lactated Ringer’s over 30 minutes initiated with patient epidural request and with preparation for or initiation of epidural placement by the anesthesiology team
- 500-mL (institutional standard) with programmed infusion pump (rate 999 mL/h)
- 1,500-mL intravenous fluid bolus using a pressure bag over 30 minutes
A reference group with admission pulse pressure ≥50 mm Hg or greater was also evaluated
Primary outcome
- Category 2 or 3 FHR within 60 minutes after epidural test dose
Secondary outcomes
- Maternal hypotension
- Composite resuscitative interventions to correct FHR and maternal hypotension

RESULTS:

139 women received 500-mL and 137 women received 1,500-mL fluid bolus
138 women were evaluated in the reference group
Demographic, obstetric, and labor characteristics were generally similar between groups
- 1,500-mL arm had higher rate of admission for induction
Comparing the 1,500-mL group to the 500-mL group, there were
- Fewer FHR abnormalities (38.0% vs 51.8%) with relative risk (RR) of 0.73, 95% CI 0.56–0.96; P=.02
- Fewer episodes of maternal systolic hypotension (10.2% vs 34.5%) with RR of 0.30, 95% CI 0.17–0.51; P<.001
- Fewer composite interventions (18.3% vs 44.2%) with RR of 0.42, 95% CI 0.28–0.62; P<.001
FHR abnormalities remained significantly less frequent in the reference group than among women with a narrow pulse pressure on admission for delivery

CONCLUSION:

An 1,500-mL intravenous fluid bolus in women with a narrow pulse pressure decreases FHR abnormalities, frequency of postepidural hypotension, and need for interventions to reverse maternal hypotension and abnormal FHR patterns
Admission maternal pulse pressure can be used as a surrogate for central volume status and may identify women who would benefit from a larger IV bolus prior to epidural

Learn More – Primary Sources:

Maternal Pulse Pressure and the Risk of Postepidural Complications: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Can Maternal Pulse Pressure be Used to Determine the Need for Fluid Bolus Prior to Epidural?