Alteration in HEaring after Accidental Dural Puncture in parturient, AHEAD study.

Post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) is one of the complications after epidural analgesia. The headache is virtually disabling in 75% of cases and sometimes associated with additional symptoms such as nausea, hearing changes, neck stiffness, and abnormal vision.

In this study, we plan to investigate the extent of hearing loss in parturients with PDPH. This will be done using both psycho-acoustic as well as electrophysiological tests. The tests for hearing loss will be done before and after standardized management of PDPH using blood patch in order to further evaluate the effect of this treatment on auditory changes. We hope to be able to provide objective diagnosis of post-dural puncture headache and thereby provide safer diagnosis and treatment of this group of patients.

Publications
Darvish B, Gupta A, Alahuhta S, Dahl V, Helbo-Hansen S, Thorsteinsson A, Irestedt L, Dahlgren G. Management of Epidural Analgesia and Postdural puncture headache in the labour ward – A Nordic survey. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavia 2011; 55: 46-53.