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Revista de la Sociedad Española del Dolor
Print version ISSN 1134-8046
Abstract
DOMINGUEZ RUIZ-HUERTA, A.; GARCIA-MIGUEL, F. J.; MIRON, M. F. and ALSINA, F. J.. Impact of the use of epidural opiates during labour. Rev. Soc. Esp. Dolor [online]. 2005, vol.12, n.6, pp.340-347. ISSN 1134-8046.
Objectives: To analyze the relationship between the use of opiates for obstetric epidural analgesia and its potential impact on the evolution and termination of labour, as well as on other obstetric-fetal variables. Material and methods: Retrospective and observational study that included all women that gave birth at the Hospital Center of Segovia over a 8-month period. Obstetric epidural analgesia, when administered, was provided by infusion of bupivacaine 0.125% plus fentanyl 2 µg.mL-1 (Group F), or by infusion of bupivacaine 0.125% (Group B). The following parameters were determined: age, nulliparity, epidural analgesia (yes/no), type of labour, length of dilatation, length of expulsion, cause of Cesarean, fetal weight, Apgar test and fetal umbilical arterial pH. Results: Data were collected from 576 women. Epidural analgesia was administered to 47.7% of women giving birth, 29.4% of which received fentanyl by continuous perfusion. Dilatation and expulsion periods were longer among women with epidural analgesia (p = 0.01 and p = 0.03, respectively), regardless whether they received or not epidural opiates. Epidural analgesia with or without opiates was also associated to a greater risk of instrumental labour (28%; p = 0.006), but it was not associated to an increased Cesarean rate. Patients that received epidural opiates had intralabour fever in 12.8% of the cases, compared with 7.1% of the women that did not received bupivacaine infusion. These differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Epidural analgesia during labour did not modified fetal well-being nor Cesarean labour rate, but it did change labour dynamics, with longer periods, greater number of instrumented labours and altered regulation of maternal temperature. The addition of epidural fentanyl did not change the association between epidural analgesia and such variables.
Keywords : Epidural analgesia; Epidural opiates; Cesarean; Instrumental labour.
