Comparison of cross-legged sitting position with the traditional sitting position for the ease of insertion of an epidural catheter in parturient for providing labour analgesia: A randomised control trial

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The patient's position during the insertion of the epidural catheter plays a major role in the success of labour analgesia. In our study, we compared the ease of insertion of the epidural catheter in either traditional sitting position (TSP) or crossed-legged sitting position (CLSP). The primary objective was to compare the number of successful first attempts at epidural placement between the groups. Secondary objective included patient comfort, ease of landmark palpation and the number of needle-bone contacts. METHODS: The prospective non-blinded randomised control study was conducted on 50 parturient with uncomplicated pregnancy during active labour. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups using a computer-generated random sequence of numbers by closed envelope technique. Group TSP received epidural in a traditional sitting position and group CLSP received an epidural in a crossed-legged sitting position with knee and hip flexed. RESULTS: The parturient in both groups were comparable with respect to the distribution of age, height, weight and parity. The baseline visual analogue score (VAS) and VAS scores at 15 min were comparable between groups. Percentage of a parturient with successful epidural placement in the first attempt was higher in CLSP group than in TSP group (88% versus 44%, P = 0.004). The landmark, needle-bone contact and comfort during positioning were comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Cross-legged sitting position is a better position than the traditional sitting position for the ease of insertion of labour epidural catheter.