Papers of the Week

Neuraxial analgesia is the gold standard for labor analgesia in the United States, and postdural puncture headache (PDPH) is one of the most common complications. PDPH is frequently treated with an epidural blood patch (EBP), but conservative treatment approaches remain common. Our current understanding of the incidence of PDPH and the frequency of EBP utilization is heavily based on reports from academic medical centers. We studied a private insurance database to provide estimates of neuraxial labor analgesia (NLA) use and PDPH and EBP incidence in the United States.