Sevoflurane and Success of External Cephalic Version (ECV)

Summary

External cephalic version (ECV) is noninvasive procedure aiming to turn the fetus to cephalic presentation, thereby enabling vaginal delivery and avoiding unnecessary cesarean delivery. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) suggested that all women near term with breech presentation should be offered a version (9). Its success rate depends on the experience of obstetrician in addition to maternal factors. Several interventions have been tried to increase the success rate of ECV, including but not limited to tocolytics and neuraxial anesthesia. Although parenteral β stimulants and spinal anesthesia proved to be effective for increasing the success rate ECV, their success rates are still not high (10, 11) Sevoflurane's pleasant odor, lack of pungency, and potent bronchodilating characteristics make sevoflurane administration via the facemask for either sedation or induction of anesthesia is suitable. Sevoflurane has sedative and uterine relaxation effects all together would facilitate ECV and consequently would increase its success rate. To the best our knowledge sevoflurane has never been studied for ECV. Up to 1% concentration of sevoflurane has been used for labor analgesia without excessive sedation (8). Therefore, the investigators aim at comparing the success rate of ECV at 36-40 weeks of gestation under 1% of sevoflurane with a control group (received no anesthetic or other obstetric interventions). Other outcomes such as pain score and maternal and fetal complications will also be evaluated.

Timeline

Start

2020-05-25

Primary completion

2021-03-31

Completion

2021-10-30

Publications

• Background United States Food and Drug Administration. FDA drug safety communication: FDA review results in new warnings about using general anesthetics and sedation drugs in young children and pregnant women. Updated 2016. Accessed February/10, 2017.
• Results Hofmeyr GJ, Kulier R, West HM. External cephalic version for breech presentation at term. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Apr 1;2015(4):CD000083. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000083.pub3.
• Results Hannah ME, Hannah WJ, Hewson SA, Hodnett ED, Saigal S, Willan AR. Planned caesarean section versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term: a randomised multicentre trial. Term Breech Trial Collaborative Group. Lancet. 2000 Oct 21;356(9239):1375-83. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02840-3.
• Results Gregory KD, Jackson S, Korst L, Fridman M. Cesarean versus vaginal delivery: whose risks? Whose benefits? Am J Perinatol. 2012 Jan;29(1):7-18. doi: 10.1055/s-0031-1285829. Epub 2011 Aug 10.
• Results Melo P, Georgiou EX, Hedditch A, Ellaway P, Impey L. External cephalic version at term: a cohort study of 18 years' experience. BJOG. 2019 Mar;126(4):493-499. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.15475. Epub 2018 Oct 23.
• Results Toscano A, Pancaro C, Giovannoni S, Minelli G, Baldi C, Guerrieri G, Crowhurst JA, Peduto VA. Sevoflurane analgesia in obstetrics: a pilot study. Int J Obstet Anesth. 2003 Apr;12(2):79-82. doi: 10.1016/S0959-289X(02)00195-4.
• Results Suehara T, Morishita J, Ueki M, Ueno M, Maekawa N, Mizobuchi S. Effects of sevoflurane exposure during late pregnancy on brain development of offspring mice. Paediatr Anaesth. 2016 Jan;26(1):52-9. doi: 10.1111/pan.12785. Epub 2015 Oct 13.
• Results Lee S, Chung W, Park H, Park H, Yoon S, Park S, Park J, Heo JY, Ju X, Yoon SH, Kim YH, Ko Y. Single and multiple sevoflurane exposures during pregnancy and offspring behavior in mice. Paediatr Anaesth. 2017 Jul;27(7):742-751. doi: 10.1111/pan.13139. Epub 2017 May 11.
• Results Yeo ST, Holdcroft A, Yentis SM, Stewart A. Analgesia with sevoflurane during labour: i. Determination of the optimum concentration. Br J Anaesth. 2007 Jan;98(1):105-9. doi: 10.1093/bja/ael326.
• Results American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins--Obstetrics. Practice Bulletin No. 161: External Cephalic Version. Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Feb;127(2):e54-61. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000001312.
• Results Magro-Malosso ER, Saccone G, Di Tommaso M, Mele M, Berghella V. Neuraxial analgesia to increase the success rate of external cephalic version: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Sep;215(3):276-86. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2016.04.036. Epub 2016 Apr 27.
• Results Cluver C, Gyte GM, Sinclair M, Dowswell T, Hofmeyr GJ. Interventions for helping to turn term breech babies to head first presentation when using external cephalic version. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Feb 9;2015(2):CD000184. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000184.pub4.
• Results Goodman S. Anesthesia for nonobstetric surgery in the pregnant patient. Semin Perinatol. 2002 Apr;26(2):136-45. doi: 10.1053/sper.2002.32203.
• Results Satomoto M, Satoh Y, Terui K, Miyao H, Takishima K, Ito M, Imaki J. Neonatal exposure to sevoflurane induces abnormal social behaviors and deficits in fear conditioning in mice. Anesthesiology. 2009 Mar;110(3):628-37. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181974fa2.
• Results Song R, Ling X, Peng M, Xue Z, Cang J, Fang F. Maternal Sevoflurane Exposure Causes Abnormal Development of Fetal Prefrontal Cortex and Induces Cognitive Dysfunction in Offspring. Stem Cells Int. 2017;2017:6158468. doi: 10.1155/2017/6158468. Epub 2017 Sep 25.
• Results Zheng H, Dong Y, Xu Z, Crosby G, Culley DJ, Zhang Y, Xie Z. Sevoflurane anesthesia in pregnant mice induces neurotoxicity in fetal and offspring mice. Anesthesiology. 2013 Mar;118(3):516-26. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3182834d5d.
• Results Fok WY, Chan LW, Leung TY, Lau TK. Maternal experience of pain during external cephalic version at term. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2005 Aug;84(8):748-51. doi: 10.1111/j.0001-6349.2005.00505.x.
• Results Yildiz K, Dogru K, Dalgic H, Serin IS, Sezer Z, Madenoglu H, Boyaci A. Inhibitory effects of desflurane and sevoflurane on oxytocin-induced contractions of isolated pregnant human myometrium. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2005 Oct;49(9):1355-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-6576.2005.00804.x.
• Results Wang ZH, Yang Y, Xu GP. Remifentanil analgesia during external cephalic version for breech presentation in nulliparous women at term: A randomized controlled trial. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Mar;96(11):e6256. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000006256.
• Results Munoz H, Guerra S, Perez-Vaquero P, Valero Martinez C, Aizpuru F, Lopez-Picado A. Remifentanil versus placebo for analgesia during external cephalic version: a randomised clinical trial. Int J Obstet Anesth. 2014 Feb;23(1):52-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijoa.2013.07.006. Epub 2014 Jan 3.
• Results Khaw KS, Lee SW, Ngan Kee WD, Law LW, Lau TK, Ng FF, Leung TY. Randomized trial of anaesthetic interventions in external cephalic version for breech presentation. Br J Anaesth. 2015 Jun;114(6):944-50. doi: 10.1093/bja/aev107. Epub 2015 May 10.
• Results Weiniger CF, Ginosar Y, Elchalal U, Sela HY, Weissman C, Ezra Y. Randomized controlled trial of external cephalic version in term multiparae with or without spinal analgesia. Br J Anaesth. 2010 May;104(5):613-8. doi: 10.1093/bja/aeq053. Epub 2010 Mar 25.
• Results Chalifoux LA, Bauchat JR, Higgins N, Toledo P, Peralta FM, Farrer J, Gerber SE, McCarthy RJ, Sullivan JT. Effect of Intrathecal Bupivacaine Dose on the Success of External Cephalic Version for Breech Presentation: A Prospective, Randomized, Blinded Clinical Trial. Anesthesiology. 2017 Oct;127(4):625-632. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000001796.

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