CLEFT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Determination of the utility of the intergluteal Cleft as a Landmark for nEuraxial midline identiFication in obsteTric patients - an observational study
IRAS ID
291462
Contact name
Neel Desai
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
One of the ways we can provide pain relief or anaesthesia for expectant mothers in labour or to facilitate caesarean delivery is through a procedure performed on the back, called an epidural, spinal or combined spinal-epidural. Normally, bony landmarks, such as the hip and the spine, are felt to find the correct place to insert the needle into the back. Such procedures on the back are straightforward most of time, but sometimes they can be challenging and difficult, particularly when these bony landmarks are not easily felt
Our aim in this research study is to find out whether the use of a novel landmark, the groove between the buttocks or the intergluteal cleft, can support the identification of the correct place to insert the needle into the middle of the back when compared to ultrasound as the reference
In terms of the conduct of the study, the patient will be asked to sit in a room with a chaperone present. Once the patient is well positioned, her lower back and buttocks will be exposed, and two investigators will mark a line across the back between the hip bones. One investigator will leave the room, and the other investigator will make a mark with an ultraviolet pen, invisible to the naked eye, in line with the groove between the buttocks or the intergluteal cleft. Following this, the investigator who left will return to the room and make a mark with an ink pen and the assistance of images from ultrasound. Next, the distance between the marks, representing the groove between the buttocks and the middle of her back, will be measured by the two investigators to see whether they are similar or not
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
23/NI/0116
Date of REC Opinion
6 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion