• Juan Yi, Yujie Li, Yawei Yuan, Zhendong Xu, Yujie Song, Binglu Ye, Qingsong Zhao, Yingying Yang, Weijia Du, and Zhiqiang Liu.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
• Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2023 Feb 1; 48 (2): 616661-66.

AimsWe compared analgesic outcomes between single-orifice and multiorifice wire-reinforced catheters under 480 mL/hour delivery rate with programmed intermittent epidural bolus administration.MethodsBetween August and November 2021, 182 nulliparous and healthy women with singleton pregnancy, 2-5 cm cervical dilation, and requesting neuraxial analgesia were randomized to receive either single-orifice or multiorifice catheters. Epidural analgesia was initiated and maintained with 0.1% ropivacaine and 0.3 µg/mL sufentanil. Programmed intermittent epidural bolus volume of 10 mL was administered every 45 min at 480 mL/hour beginning immediately after the test dose. Primary outcome was the percentage of parturients in the two groups with adequate analgesia 20 min after the initial bolus.ResultsCompared with multiorifice catheters, single-orifice catheters were associated with a higher proportion of parturients with adequate analgesia (71.8% vs 56.0%, respectively; 95% CI 1.3% to 29%, p=0.03) and more frequent S2 sensory blockade (37.6% vs 22.6%, respectively; 95% CI -30% to 1%, p=0.03) 20 min after block initiation. Median time (IQR) to adequate analgesia was 12 (8-30) min and 20 (10-47) min with single-orifice and multiorifice catheters, respectively (95% CI 0.1 to 0.7 min, p<0.01). The median (IQR) ropivacaine consumption per hour was higher in parturients receiving multiorifice catheters than those with single-orifice catheters (15.3 (13.3-17.0) mg/hour vs 13.3 (13.3-15.4) mg/hour, respectively; 95% CI 0.2 to 0.8 mg/hour, p<0.001).ConclusionSingle-orifice catheters used for programmed intermittent epidural bolus at 480 mL/hour for epidural labor analgesia had improved analgesic efficacy than multiorifice catheters.Trial Registration NumberChiCTR2100049872.© American Society of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine 2023. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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