1,081
Participants
Start Date
June 30, 2007
Primary Completion Date
December 31, 2009
Study Completion Date
December 31, 2009
19g Tuohy-type epidural needle, 23g catheter
Patients in the experimental group will receive a 23g 90cm adult length epidural catheter placed via a 19g Tuohy epidural needle (SIMS Portex, Hythe, UK). The 19g Tuohy needle is a standard 3½ inch length.
=> 18g Tuohy-type needle
Patients in the control arm will receive a traditional large gauge (16g, 17g or 18g Tuohy or Hustead) epidural needle and a traditional epidural catheter. Two control needles and two control catheters will be designated apriori by each institution for use in the study.
British Columbia Women's Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver
IWK Health Centre, Halifax
St. Joseph's Hospital, London
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre at Women's College Hospital, Toronto
The Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation
OTHER
Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society
OTHER
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
OTHER