A Study on the Distance from the Skin to the Lumbar Epidural Space in Korean Obstetric Population / 대한마취과학회지

ABSTRACT

The distance from the skin to the lumbar epidural space was measured in 87 women undergoing cesarean section(C/S) and 36 patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy(TAH) to compare with the C/S group. The patients age, height, most recent antenatal or preopertive weight, and shoe size were obtained before measuring the epidural depth. The PI(ponderal index) was caculated by dividing weight(kg) by height(m). In patients undergoing total hysterectomy, the mean distance was found to be 4.42 cm, which correlated with weight and PI (p<0.05), but height and shoe size had no significant effect on this distance. In women undergoing cesarean section, the mean distance was found to be 4.48 cm which had no correlation with any other measurements.