The Changing Face of Neuraxial Anesthesia – Speed, Safety, and Efficiency

Among the countless advancements in the field of medicine, neuraxial anesthesia stands out as a cornerstone of modern perioperative care. This specialized technique — involving the administration of local anesthetic agents near the spinal cord — has garnered broad recognition for its significant benefits in pain management and patient care.

Delivering local anesthesia to a targeted epidural space is a widely accepted and common practice. However, the precision of the injection plays a fundamental role in the success of neuraxial procedures and the well-being of the patient.

The benefits of neuraxial anesthesia

Neuraxial anesthesia is a generally safe, well-tolerated, and highly effective perioperative modality. And while it’s easy to identify its preoperative benefits, its postoperative benefits are arguably as impressive. Today, neuraxial anesthesia is associated with:

• Pain management. Neuraxial anesthesia has shown to be especially impressive in pain management, significantly improving postoperative pain scores compared to general anesthesia. Additionally, its ability to provide targeted pain relief allows for reduced reliance on systemic opioids, mitigating the risk of opioid-related adverse effects and dependency.
• Reduced complications and morbidity. The implementation of neuraxial anesthesia has been associated with lower rates of various complications, presenting a compelling case for its clinical utility. It’s also credited with a lower 0-to-30-day mortality rate for patients with an intermediate-to-high cardiac risk.
• Improved surgical outcomes. The impact of neuraxial anesthesia on surgical outcomes is telling, with evidence suggesting its role in promoting hemodynamic stability during surgery. Neuraxial anesthesia helps maintain stable blood pressure and heart rate, reducing the risks of intraoperative complications and ensuring smoother surgical procedures.

Together, these findings point to a strong indication that — versus general anesthesia — a neuraxial approach pays dividends in post procedure benefits, improving patient outcomes beyond the nature of the intervention itself.

Accuro for improved administration

The efficacy of neuraxial anesthesia is well documented, but success rates are still subject to the accuracy of the administration itself. While it’s proven to be a powerful perioperative intervention, one consideration remains: the clinician technique. Even the most qualified clinician can struggle to locate placement through blind palpation alone — especially in patients with challenging anatomies.

RIVANNA’s Accuro neuraxial guidance tool delivers automated, real-time image guidance with significantly enhanced bone-to-tissue contrast to ensure improved localization of the desired intervertebral space during spinal needle guidance procedures. It’s designed to improve the safety, speed, and efficiency of neuraxial anesthesia procedures, maximizing positive outcomes and improving the overall patient experience.

As compared to traditional palpation-based methods, Accuro has been clinically proven to:

• Significantly improve first-attempt success rates and needle passes
• Enhance patient satisfaction
• Reduce needle insertion, identification time, and complications
• Increase automated measurement accuracy

By incorporating ultrasound guidance in neuraxial anesthesia administration, clinicians can navigate challenging patient anatomies with precision and ease, achieving improved outcomes and procedural efficiency.