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Addition of clonidine to a continuous patient‐controlled epidural infusion of low‐concentration levobupivacaine plus sufentanil in primiparous women during labour
Author(s) -
Bazin M.,
Bonnin M.,
Storme B.,
Bolandard F.,
Vernis L.,
Lavergne B.,
Pereira B.,
Bazin J. E.,
Dualé C.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2011.06785.x
Subject(s) - levobupivacaine , medicine , clonidine , sufentanil , anesthesia , hemodynamics , blood pressure , bupivacaine
Summary We studied the potentiation of analgesia for labour by the addition of clonidine to epidural low‐concentration levobupivacaine with sufentanil in a randomised, double‐blinded study. We enrolled primiparous women who were in spontaneous labour. The study solutions, made of 100 ml levobupivacaine 0.0625% plus sufentanil 0.45 μg.ml −1 and either 150 μg clonidine or no clonidine, were used for induction of analgesia, and for its maintenance with self‐administered boluses and a continuous background infusion. The need for additional epidural boluses during labour was lower and analgesia and maternal satisfaction were better in the clonidine (n = 57) than in the control group (n = 58). Blood pressure was lower and the rate of instrumental delivery higher in the clonidine group. Clonidine (1.36 μg.ml −1 ) added to the epidural solution of low‐concentration levobupivacaine improves the quality of analgesia. The relevance of the haemodynamic effects should be explored in larger validation studies.