Abstract :
Introduction: For pain relief during labor, regional analgesia is considered the most preferred technique; nevertheless the best method is yet to be determined. We carried out a randomized study to assess efficacy, safety & maternal satisfaction with standard epidural and combined spinal epidural (CSE) analgesia technique among 40 primigarvida.
Materials and Methods: Healthy primigarvida in labor having cervical dilatation between 3 to 5 cm were assigned randomly to receive either epidural or CSE for labor analgesia. Analgesia was established in Epidural group with 12ml of 0.0625% bupivacaine added with 2µg/ml fentanyl & in CSE group with intrathecal injection of 2.5mg 0.5% heavy bupivacaine plus fentanyl 25µg (total 2 ml). In both groups whenever patient’s VAS>3, 2nd dose was given in form of epidural bolus 10ml 0.0625% bupivacaine 2µg/ml fentanyl, followed by infusion of same concentration at 8 ml/h.
Results: The onset of labor analgesia was significantly faster in CSE group (5.5±1.9 vs. 13±5.9 minutes, p
Keyword :
Bupivacaine, Combined spinal epidural, Epidural, Fentanyl, Intrathecal, Labor analgesia.