Open AccessA Comparison of 0.0625% Bupivacaine with Fentanyl and 0.1% Ropivacaine with Fentanyl for Continuous Epidural Labor Analgesia
Author(s) -
J Fernández-Guisasola,
María Luisa Benito Serrano,
Belén Cobo,
L Fernández Muñoz,
A García Plaza,
C. Trigo,
Santiago García-del-Valle
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
anesthesia and analgesia/anesthesia and analgesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.404
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1526-7598
pISSN - 0003-2999
DOI - 10.1097/00000539-200105000-00034
Subject(s) - ropivacaine , medicine , bupivacaine , fentanyl , anesthesia , analgesic , bolus (digestion) , local anesthetic , motor block , lidocaine , catheter , surgery
We compared the analgesic efficacy and the degree of motor block achieved with epidural infusion of 0.0625% bupivacaine (Group B) versus 0.1% ropivacaine (Group R), both with 0.0002% fentanyl (2 microg/mL) in laboring patients. A prospective, double-blinded study was performed in 98 ASA physical status I-II parturients who were divided randomly into two groups to receive either bupivacaine or ropivacaine after catheter location had been tested with an initial bolus of lidocaine and fentanyl. The infusion rate was 15 mL/h in every case. When pain was perceived, 5-mL boluses of the assigned epidural analgesic were administered every 10 min until analgesia was achieved. We recorded pain intensity, level of sensory block, degree of motor block, hemodynamic variables, secondary effects, mode of delivery, neonatal outcome, and patient satisfaction. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the factors analyzed. Highly effective analgesia was achieved in both groups with a small incidence of motor block. These findings suggest that bupivacaine may be more potent than ropivacaine.