Is obstetric epidural anaesthesia technically possible after spinal surgery and does it work?
With an overall 18% failure rate, epidural anaesthesia is not contra-indicated in these patients but appears to be less reliable than in patients with normal spine. Psychological and technical preparation to the occurrence of failure is necessary.
In this large North-European multi-centre study, asthma was less common with increasing maternal age. This effect was consistent between centres and persisted with adjustment for several potential confounders, suggesting that the association may possibly be explained by biological changes related to maternal ageing.