Management of cervical cerclage at term: remove the suture in labor?

The use of tenoxicam to prevent symptoms of discomfort induced by vagotonia during uterus manipulation in cesarean sections

PURPOSE

Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, tightness of the chest, bradycardia, and shoulder or abdominal discomfort, caused by vagotonia occurring during uterus manipulation, have concerned healthcare professionals for some time. Patients sometimes report these symptoms when undergoing spinal anesthesia for cesarean sections (CSs). We designed a prospective, double-blind study to investigate the effectiveness of tenoxicam in preventing these symptoms of discomfort.

METHODS

A total of 105 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I-II nulliparous pregnant women, who were scheduled for a CS, were enrolled into this prospective, double-blind study. Spinal anesthesia was conducted to reach a peak dermatome level of no more than T3. The 100 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups having completed study course: Group T (N = 50) received a 20 mg dose of tenoxicam in 5 mL of normal saline (NS) immediately after skin incision and Group N (N = 50) only received 5 mL NS. The incidence and severity of the symptoms experienced by the patients were recorded by a nurse anesthetist who was blinded to the injection regimen the patients were receiving. A chi-square test was used for statistical analysis t test and P < .05 was defined as significant.

RESULTS

The incidence and degree of severity of nausea and vomiting were same in both the groups. The incidence and degree of severity of bradycardia, nausea, vomiting, tightness of the chest, shoulder discomfort, and abdominal discomfort were lower in Group T than in Group N.

CONCLUSION

Tenoxicam might theoretically block the parasympathetic vagus pathway and decrease the visceral pain or visceral-specific symptoms, alleviating the symptoms caused by vagotonia. However, the prophylactic effect of tenoxicam in reducing the incidence and severity of nausea and vomiting was not statistically significant. This could be because nausea and vomiting are not solely caused by vagotonia, but also by other mechanisms.

Insuffisance cervicale et cerclage cervical

OBJECTIF

La présente directive clinique a pour but de fournir un cadre de référence que les cliniciens pourront utiliser pour identifier les femmes qui sont exposées aux plus grands risques de connaître une insuffisance cervicale, ainsi que pour déterminer les circonstances en présence desquelles la mise en place d'un cerclage pourrait s'avérer souhaitable. RéSULTATS: La littérature publiée a été récupérée par l'intermédiaire de recherches menées dans PubMed ou MEDLINE, CINAHL et The Cochrane Library en 2012 au moyen d'un vocabulaire contrôlé (p. ex. « uterine cervical incompetence ») et de mots clés appropriés (p. ex. « cervical insufficiency », « cerclage », « Shirodkar », « cerclage », « MacDonald », « cerclage », « abdominal », « cervical length », « mid-trimester pregnancy loss »). Les résultats ont été restreints aux analyses systématiques, aux essais comparatifs randomisés / essais cliniques comparatifs et aux études observationnelles. Aucune restriction n'a été appliquée en matière de date ou de langue. Les recherches ont été mises à jour de façon régulière et intégrées à la directive clinique jusqu'en janvier 2011. La littérature grise (non publiée) a été identifiée par l'intermédiaire de recherches menées dans les sites Web d'organismes s'intéressant à l'évaluation des technologies dans le domaine de la santé et d'organismes connexes, dans des collections de directives cliniques, dans des registres d'essais cliniques et auprès de sociétés de spécialité médicale nationales et internationales.

VALEURS

La qualité des résultats est évaluée au moyen des critères décrits dans le rapport du Groupe d'étude canadien sur les soins de santé préventifs (Tableau). RECOMMANDATIONS.

Cervical lacerations in planned versus labor cerclage removal: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of cervical lacerations with cerclage removal planned before labor compared to after the onset of labor by a systematic review of published studies.

STUDY DESIGN

Searches were performed in electronic databases from inception of each database to November 2014. We identified all studies reporting the rate of cervical lacerations and the timing of cerclage removal (either before or after the onset of labor). The primary outcome was the incidence of spontaneous and clinically significant intrapartum cervical lacerations (i.e. lacerations requiring suturing).

RESULTS

Six studies, which met the inclusion criteria, were included in the analysis. The overall incidence of cervical lacerations was 8.9% (32/359). There were 23/280 (6.4%) cervical lacerations in the planned removal group, and 9/79 (11.4%) in the removal after labor group (odds ratio 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.31-1.57).

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, planned removal of cerclage before labor was not shown to be associated with statistically significant reduction in the incidence of cervical lacerations. However, since that our data probably did not reach statistical significance because of a type II error, further studies are needed.

Use and misuse of the term "elective" in obstetrics

The term "elective" is commonly used in obstetrics. We performed an electronic search of MEDLINE database using the terms "elective" and "obstetrics," which provided 2,208 publications. We found "elective" was more often used in relation to surgical interventions (eg, cesarean delivery, cerclage) and medical procedures (labor induction) rather than diagnostic procedures. Our review indicates the term lacks the necessary scientific specificity when used to modify procedures such as cerclage, cesarean delivery, timing of delivery, episiotomy, hysterectomy, labor induction, preterm delivery, termination of pregnancy, and ultrasonography. The lack of specificity of the term suggests the most reasonable and prudent course of action is to not use it, but rather to document the specific indication (whether medical or non-medical) for the intervention or procedure (eg, "cesarean delivery on maternal request," "history-indicated cerclage," "induction for preeclampsia"). We propose that the term "elective" should be eliminated from the vocabulary of obstetric practice.

Time interval from elective removal of cervical cerclage to onset of spontaneous labour

OBJECTIVE

To determine the time interval between elective removal of a cervical cerclage to the onset of spontaneous labour in women who had either a history- or ultrasound-indicated cervical cerclage.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study of women with a singleton pregnancy that had either a modified Shirodkar or McDonald cervical cerclage inserted were evaluated for the time interval between elective cerclage removal and onset of spontaneous labour and also spontaneous labour with 72 h of cervical cerclage removal.

RESULTS

Two hundred and sixty-nine singleton pregnancies with either a modified Shirodkar or McDonald cervical cerclage were analysed. The mean gestational age at cerclage removal was 36.7 ± 1.10 weeks and gestational age at spontaneous labour was 39.0 ± 1.94 weeks (mean ± SD). The median interval between cerclage removal and spontaneous labour was 14 days. Only 18% of women laboured spontaneously within 72 h. Women with ultrasound-indicated cerclage were more likely to deliver within 72 h, compared with women with a history-indicated cervical cerclage (odds ratio, 3.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.31-10.85, p=0.01).

CONCLUSION

Independent of the indication or technique used for cervical cerclage, the rate of early spontaneous labour following elective removal of cervical cerclage is sufficiently low to justify outpatient management.

Interval to spontaneous delivery after elective removal of cerclage

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to estimate the time interval between elective cerclage removal and spontaneous delivery.

METHODS

Singleton pregnancies with McDonald cerclage were evaluated for the interval between elective cerclage removal (36-37 weeks) and spontaneous delivery. We also compared spontaneous delivery within 48 hours after cerclage removal between women with ultrasound-indicated vs history-indicated cerclage.

RESULTS

We identified 141 women with elective cerclage removal. The mean interval between removal and delivery was 14 days. Only 11% of women delivered within 48 hours. Women with ultrasound-indicated cerclage were more likely to deliver within 48 hours, compared with women with history-indicated cerclage (odds ratio, 5.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-24.05).

CONCLUSION

The mean interval between elective cerclage removal and spontaneous delivery is 14 days. Women with cerclage who achieved 36-37 weeks should be counseled that their chance of spontaneous delivery within 48 hours after elective cerclage removal is only 11%.

Cervical lacerations: some surprising facts

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to calculate the incidence of cervical lacerations after vaginal delivery and to study its associated risk factors.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective chart review of all patients with a cervical laceration after vaginal delivery during a 5 year period was performed. Their risk factors were studied. A chi2 test and Bonferroni's correction were applied. The relative risk, P values, and confidence intervals were calculated.

RESULTS

Thirty-two patients of 16,931 vaginal deliveries had a cervical laceration for an incidence of 0.2%. Cervical cerclage was associated with an 11.5-fold increase (95% confidence interval 4.1 to 33.3) and induction of labor with a 3.1-fold increase (95% confidence interval 1.5 to 6.7) in the rate of cervical lacerations. Vacuum and forceps deliveries were not noted to be significant risk factors.

CONCLUSION

We noted an association of cervical lacerations with cervical cerclage and induction of labor. We were unable to detect an association with cervical lacerations and operative vaginal delivery.