The effect of second-stage pushing and body mass index on postdural puncture headache

Abstract Study objective To explore how pushing during labor and body mass index affect the development of postdural puncture headache in parturients who experienced dural puncture with Tuohy needles. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting Obstetric ward and operating rooms at a university-affiliated hospital. Patients One hundred ninety parturients who had witnessed dural puncture with 17 or 18 gauge Tuohy needles from 1999-2014. Interventions Patients were categorized by pushing status and body mass index (kg/m 2 ): nonobese Measurements Headache, number of days of headache, maximum headache score, and epidural blood patch placement. Main results Compared with women who did not push, women who pushed during labor had increased risk of postdural puncture headache (odds ratio [OR], 2.1 [1.1-4.0]; P =.02), more days of headache ( P =.02), and increased epidural blood patch placement ( P =.02). Super obese patients were less likely to develop headache compared with nonobese (OR, 0.33 [0.13-0.85]; P =.02), obese (OR, 0.37 [0.14-0.98]; P =.045], and morbidly obese patients (OR, 0.20 [0.05-0.68]; P P =.096) and super obesity (OR, 0.41 [0.16-1.02]; P =.056] were no longer significantly associated with reduced risk of postdural puncture headache. Conclusions Parturients who did not push before delivery and parturients with body mass index ≥50kg/m 2 were less likely to develop postdural puncture headache in a univariate analysis. Similar trends were demonstrated in a multivariate model, but were no longer statistically significant.