2020, Volume 13, Issue 4, pp 517 – 522

Methods of Delivery in Pregnant Women with Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Narrative Review of General Management and Case Report

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* Corresponding Author: Anca Panaitescu, Clinical Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology Filantropia 11 Ion Mihalache,Bucharest, Romania. E-mail: panaitescu.anca@yahoo.com

Abstract

Low back pain is a common complaint during pregnancy, affecting approximately half of pregnant women. However, true disc herniation is extremely rare, and the majority of patients heal without surgery. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of conservative management strategies and delivery modes for pregnant patients suffering from lumbar disc herniation without severe neurologic deficits that would require emergency surgery. We performed a narrative review of the literature using the PubMed database. Thirty-one articles were originally retrieved, out of which 7 met the inclusion criteria, compiling a total of 10 cases of parturient patients with lumbar disc hernia treated conservatively until childbirth. The preferred delivery mode was a Cesarean section, which was performed in 6 out of 10 cases. Two patients developed the cauda equina syndrome, one during a failed induction and the other patient 4 weeks after vacuum extraction. However, the second patient failed to improve after surgery. No patients developed cauda equina syndrome during or after the Cesarean section. Based on limited data, the Cesarean section seems to be preferred compared to vaginal delivery to avoid worsening symptoms and progression to the cauda equina syndrome.

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About this article

PMC ID: 7803304
PubMed ID: 33456600
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2020-0166

Article Publishing Date (print): Oct-Dec 2020
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


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