Self-administered intravenous analgesia during labour. A comparison between pentazocine and pethidine.
Pentazocine or pethidine was administered to healthy parturients up to the time of delivery using a self-demand (self-administration on demand) intravenous apparatus, the Cardiff Palliator. Good analgesia was obtained with both drugs. The patients receiving pethidine exhibited side-effects (nausea, vomiting and drowsiness), whereas there were no side-effects among those receiving pentazocine. Apgar and neurobehavioural scores of the babies of mothers in both groups were the same and did not differ from those of a third group of babies, the mothers of whom had received 4-hourly intramuscular pethidine on demand according to the usual hospital routine. The self-administration technique proved a safe and effective means of providing analgesia during labour and delivery, with pentazocine having a decided advantage over pethidine because of its lack of side-effects.
D000328:Adult; D000698:Analgesia / Q000379:methods*; D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D008614:Meperidine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010423:Pentazocine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011247:Pregnancy; D012646:Self Administration
D008614:Meperidine; D010423:Pentazocine