Korean J Anesthesiol.  1997 Feb;32(2):274-280. 10.4097/kjae.1997.32.2.274.

Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia during Labor and Delivery

• Lee Y
• Chae Y
• Oh Y
• Kim H
• Chung C

• KMID: 2240314
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.1997.32.2.274

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Epidural administration of dilute solution of local anesthetic and lipid-soluble opioid provides the best pain relief during labor and delivery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety, efficacy and patient satisfaction of patient-controlled epidural analgesia compared with continuous infusion epidural analgesia.
METHODS
Forty healthy full-term parturients who requested epidural analgesia were assigned randomly to either patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) group or continuous infusion epidural analgesia (CIEA) group. All parturients received proper dose of 0.25% bupivacaine with 0.0008% fentanyl to block T10 sensory level. PCEA was programmed as followings; no background infusion, a 4 ml bolus dose and 15min lock-out interval using 0.0625% bupivacaine with 0.0002% fentanyl. CIEA was started with the same solution at 12ml/hr constantly.
RESULTS
Hourly requirement of 0.0625% bupivacaine (mean+/-SD 7.1+/-5.8 ml/hr, median 7.6 ml/hr in PCEA group and mean+/-SD 13.2+/-2.9 ml/hr, median 12 ml/hr in CIEA group) during labor was significantly reduced in PCEA group (p<0.05). Maternal satisfaction, obstetric and neonatal parameters were shown no statistically significant difference. Incidences of postpartum complications such as gait disturbance, urinary difficulty, pruritus, nausea and vomiting were rare in both groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Patient-controlled epidural analgesia is safe and effective and has 37% sparing effect of bupivacaine dosage used per hour compared with continuous infusion epidural analgesia.

Keyword

Analgesia; epidural patient-controlled; Anesthetics; local bupivacaine; ain labor

MeSH Terms

Analgesia
Analgesia, Epidural*
Anesthetics
Bupivacaine
Fentanyl
Gait
Incidence
Nausea
Patient Satisfaction
Postpartum Period
Pruritus
Vomiting
Anesthetics
Bupivacaine
Fentanyl