Continuous epidural infusion of alfentanil and bupivacaine for labor and delivery.
The purpose of this study was to compare alfentanil and fentanyl used in combination with bupivacaine in a continuous infusion epidural technique during labor and delivery. Thirty nine ASA I parturients had epidural analgesia induced with 0.25% bupivacaine and were then assigned in a randomized double-blind fashion to receive a continuous infusion of 0.125% bupivacaine containing either 5 micro/ml of alfentanil or 2 micro/ml of fentanyl at a rate of 10 ml/h. Analgesia assessed by visual analog scores was significantly better during both stage I and stage II of labor in the group receiving alfentanil. No significant maternal or neonatal side-effects were demonstrated.
Bader
A M
AM
Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Ray
N
N
Datta
S
S