• P Gude, C S B Kaci, M Sieker, H Vogelsang, M Bellgardt, J Herzog-Niescery, T P Weber, J Weber, S Teubner, and P Kern.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Katholisches Klinikum Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: p.gude@klinikum-bochum.de.
• Int J Obstet Anesth. 2021 Feb 1; 45: 83-89.

BackgroundEpidural analgesia provides sufficient analgesia during labor but can cause hypotension despite various prophylactic measures. We studied its effects on pre-placental, fetoplacental, and fetal hemodynamics using Doppler ultrasound. The primary endpoint was the pulsatility index of the umbilical artery at 30 min after establishing epidural analgesia. Secondary endpoints included maternal blood pressures and neonatal outcome data.MethodsWe included healthy parturients at a cervical dilation ≥2 cm, with or without a request for epidural analgesia (n=32 per group). Ultrasound studies of the uterine arteries, umbilical artery and fetal middle cerebral artery were performed before insertion of the epidural catheter, and 30, 60 and 90 min after; the same time-points were assessed in the non-epidural control group. Maternal blood pressure was measured by a continuous non-invasive arterial pressure monitor.ResultsUltrasound studies detected no significant differences in pulsatility indices over time in any blood vessel. In contrast to the control group, maternal blood pressures were significantly lower for all measures after the onset of analgesia compared with baseline values (mean systolic pressure decreased from 132.7 ± 15.9 mmHg to 123.1 ± 14.4 mmHg at 30 min, P=0.003). The mean pH value of the umbilical arterial blood was 7.29 (±0.06) in the epidural group versus 7.31 (±0.08) in the control group (P=0.33). The median Apgar score at 5 min was 10 in both groups.ConclusionsPre-placental, fetoplacental and fetal hemodynamics remained stable despite a statistically significant decrease in maternal blood pressure in laboring parturients receiving epidural analgesia.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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