Publication Name	World Journal of Critical Care Medicine
Manuscript ID	94157
Country	Canada

Category	Anesthesiology
Manuscript Type	Minireviews
Article Title	Why do thoracic epidurals fail? A literature review on thoracic epidural failure and catheter confirmation
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Kamal Kumar, Fuhazia Horner, Mohamed Aly, Gopakumar S Nair and Cheng Lin
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Kamal Kumar, MBBS, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, 800 Commissioners Road East, London N6A 5W9, ON, Canada. kamal.kumar@lhsc.on.ca
Key Words	Thoracic epidural; Failure rate; Placement; Electrophysiological stimulation; Epidural waveform monitoring; X-ray epidurography
Core Tip	Thoracic epidural anesthesia is a valuable technique for perioperative analgesia in abdominal and thoracic surgeries, but it is associated with a significant failure rate. Factors such as mis-identifying vertebral level, catheter migrations, anatomic factors and equipment failures can all cause suboptimal outcomes. Techniques such as electrophysiological stimulation and waveform monitoring enable the clinicians to confirm catheter level and location in the epidural space, respectively, but provide no information on the spread pattern. X-ray epidurography, on the other hand, provides information on catheter location and spread pattern but requires special equipment and training to perform.
Citation	<p>Kumar K, Horner F, Aly M, Nair GS, Lin C. Why do thoracic epidurals fail? A literature review on thoracic epidural failure and catheter confirmation. <i>World J Crit Care Med</i> 2024; 13(3): 94157</p>

Received	2024-03-12 13:51
Peer-Review Started	2024-03-12 13:51
To Make the First Decision
Return for Revision	2024-04-29 23:07
Revised	2024-05-30 21:14
Second Decision	2024-06-24 02:45
Accepted by Journal Editor-in-Chief
Accepted by Executive Editor-in-Chief	2024-06-24 08:06
Articles in Press	2024-06-24 08:06
Publication Fee Transferred
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript	2024-07-02 00:17

ISSN	2220-3141(online)
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