Epidural analgesia with sufentanil during labor and operative delivery

BACKGROUND: It has been argued that by adding an opioid to the local anesthetic drug used for epidural analgesia during childbirth, one can reduce the risk of operative delivery. Objective. In a population-based observational study, to evaluate the effect of adding an opioid to a local anesthetic drug on the risk of instrumental delivery or cesarean section. DESIGN: Comparison of delivery units adding/not adding opioid to the local anesthetic for epidural analgesia in labor. SETTING: All deliveries using epidural analgesia in Sweden during 1992-96 were evaluated on the basis of information stored at the Medical Birth Registry, the National Board of Health and Welfare, Stockholm. METHOD: A questionnaire was sent to all delivery units (n=61), as well as to the Head of corresponding Anesthesiology Department in each hospital, requesting information regarding the period when opioids (sufentanil) were first added to the local epidural analgesic. Parturients given epidural analgesia were divided into three time-related groups: those delivered before the introduction of opioids (n=34,071), when opioids were first added (n=7,236), and since the introduction of opioids (n=44,384). Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the effect of sufentanil versus no sufentanil, on the risk of operative delivery. The parturients were stratified for year of delivery, age, and parity. Main outcome measures. Instrumental delivery, cesarean section, length of stay in hospital post partum. RESULTS: A significant reduction was observed in the incidence of instrumental delivery (OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.68-0.76). A similar though less pronounced effect was evident concerning the risk of cesarean section for nulliparae (OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.72-0.88) but not for multiparae (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.80-1.07). Fewer women with an opioid added to the local anesthetic spent more than 4 (or more than 7) days in hospital post partum, compared with those given epidural analgesia without an opioid. CONCLUSION: When added to the local anesthetic used for epidural analgesia, as in Sweden during the last 5 years, opioids appear to reduce the incidence of instrumental delivery and cesarean section and also the post partum hospital stay.     

Epidural analgesia for vaginal delivery

Epidural anaesthesia is the most efficient method of pain reduction. The effect of pain over physiological mother's and fetuse's process; indications, contraindications and conditions for epidural analgesia for vaginal delivery, as like as side effects and complications of epidural analgesia are established in this review.     

Epidural morphine analgesia after cesarean delivery

The effectiveness and safety of 5 mg of epidurally administered morphine for postoperative analgesia was determined in 276 healthy women undergoing cesarean delivery. Overall pain relief, time to administration of additional analgesic medications, and adverse side effects were evaluated. Epidural injection of 5 mg of morphine provided good to excellent pain relief lasting 24 to 36 hours for 83% of patients. Also, review of hospital records for a subset of 34 patients revealed that requirements for additional systemic analgesics were markedly less when postoperative pain relief was provided by epidural administration of morphine than by conventional analgesia therapy. Pruritus, nausea, and vomiting occurred frequently, but were easily treated. Although late respiratory depression did not occur in this group, the authors continue to observe patients closely and monitor respiratory rates for 24 hours.     

Epidural analgesia and fetal head malposition at vaginal delivery

OBJECTIVE: To determine if nulliparas who delivered with on-demand epidural analgesia are more likely to have malpositioning of the fetal vertex at delivery than women delivered during a period of restricted epidural use. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of nulliparous women with spontaneous labor delivered during a 12-month period immediately before the availability of on-demand labor epidural analgesia was compared with a similar group of nulliparas delivered after labor epidural analgesia was available on request. The primary outcome variable was a non-occiput anterior position or malpositioned fetal head at vaginal delivery. RESULTS: The frequency of epidural use increased from 0.9% before epidural analgesia became available on demand to 82.9% afterward. Fetal head malpositioning at vaginal delivery occurred in 26 of 434 (6.0%) women delivered in the before period compared with 29 of 511 (5.7%) in the after period (relative risk 0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.6, 1.6). No statistically significant difference in the incidence of fetal head malpositioning was present after patients were stratified by mode of delivery (Mantel-Haenszel weighted relative risk 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.6, 1.4). The study sample size provided 85% power to detect a two-fold increase in the incidence of fetal malpositioning from a baseline rate of 6% associated with on-demand epidural use. CONCLUSION: Providing on-request labor epidural analgesia to nulliparas in spontaneous labor did not result in a clinically significant increase in the frequency of fetal head malpositioning at vaginal delivery.     

Epidural analgesia and the course of delivery in term primiparas

OBJECTIVES: Epidural analgesia provides the most effective pain control during labor. Of great concern is its influence on the course of delivery and perinatal complications. DESIGN: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of epidural analgesia on the course of delivery and perinatal outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 609 deliveries among 1334 (323 women with epidural analgesia (53%) and 548 without epidural analgesia (47%)) met the following criteria: primipara, singleton, live pregnancy, > =37 weeks' gestation, cephalic presentation of a fetus, lack of contraindication for vaginal delivery. The incidence of instrumental deliveries and fetal distress, duration of the first, second and third stage of labor, perinatal outcome, perinatal complications and perinatal blood loss and were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of fetal distress during second stage of labor was significantly higher in the epidural group (12.69 vs. 6.99%, P=0.02). The incidence of fetal distress during first stage of labor did not differ in both groups (10.53% vs. 8.74%, NS). Cesarean sections rate was similar in epidural and non-epidural group (17.7 vs. 18.2%, NS). Among vaginal deliveries duration of the first and second stage of labor was longer in epidural group (6.5+/-2.4 vs. 5.4+/-2.5 godz., P=0,000003 and 47.3+/-34.8 vs. 29.1+/-25.8 min., P=0.000003) and this was independent of period of time between onset of first stage of labor and epidural analgesia. Oxitocin use was significantly more frequent in the epidural group (20.6 vs. 10.3%, P<0.004). There were no statistically significant differences in the rates of instrumental vaginal deliveries, 1 and 5-minute Apgar scores, length of third stage of labor and perinatal blood loss in patients with and without epidural analgesia. Perinatal outcome did not depend on previous use of epidural analgesia or mode of analgesia for the operation in cesarean section subgroup. CONCLUSION: Epidural labor analgesia is associated with slower progress of labor but has no adverse effect on perinatal outcome and perinatal complications.     

Epidural analgesia.

The most frequently used postoperative analgesia techniques are intramuscular injection (IM) and patient controlled analgesia (PCA). Recently, the use of epidural catheter injection (EPI) has been done with success. This study was done to prospectively compare these three techniques for postoperative analgesia after extensive operations upon the colon and rectum. Patients were randomized to one of three analgesia groups--IM, intramuscular morphine sulfate; PCA, patient controlled morphine sulfate, and EPI, epidural morphine sulfate. Data collected included age, time to first bowel movement, amount of narcotic, number achieving 75 per cent of preoperative forced vital capacity, postoperative pruritus, headache, nausea and vomiting, respiratory depression, atelectasis or pneumonitis. A visual analog pain scale was used to evaluate postoperative pain severity (0, no; 1, partial; 2, marked, and 3, total relief). Sixty-eight patients were eligible for study (IM, 19; PCA, 22; EPI, 23, and excluded, four). The EPI group required significantly less daily narcotic compared with either the IM or PCA groups (17.0 +/- 6.12 milligrams; 67.8 +/- 26.8 milligrams; 40.5 +/- 20.6 milligrams, respectively, less than 0.05 ANOVA) and total narcotic (81.3 +/- 31.3 milligrams; 355.4 +/- 147.7 milligrams; 215.3 +/- 105.4 milligrams, respectively, p less than 0.05 ANOVA). EPI achieves excellent pain control in more patients with a significantly lower dose of narcotics and significantly fewer pulmonary complications. Therefore, epidural analgesia is the optimal method of postoperative analgesia after extensive abdominal operations.     

Epidural analgesia for vaginal delivery. Influence over the delivery, fetal presentation, the method of delivery and lactation

Epidural anaesthesia is the most efficient and widespread in developed countries method of pain reduction. The effects of epidural analgesia over uterine activity, duration of first, second and third period of labor, frequency of operative delivery--vaginal and abdominal, as like as its effects of breastfeeding are established in this review.