• J M Alexander, S K Sharma, D D McIntire, J Wiley, and K J Leveno.
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75235-9032, USA. jalexa@mednet.swmed.edu
• Anesth. Analg. 2001 Jun 1;92(6):1524-8.

AbstractSome authors have suggested that the intensity of labor pain may be related to labor dystocia. We performed a secondary analysis of a previously published randomized investigation of the effects of epidural analgesia during labor compared with patient-controlled IV meperidine on cesarean delivery. Two-hundred-fifty-nine women who received patient-controlled IV meperidine were identified for analysis. All women were in spontaneous labor with a singleton, term gestation. Women requiring 50 mg or more of meperidine per hour during labor were compared with those who required <50 mg/h. In addition, their pain scores (visual analog scale) were compared before and after analgesia administration. Pain scores were significantly higher in women requiring 50 mg/h of meperidine (8.7 vs 8.0, P = 0.05), and their labors tended to be longer (9 vs 5 h, P = 0.09). More cesarean deliveries for obstructed labor were performed in women requiring >50 mg/h of meperidine (14% vs 1.4%, P = 0.001). Neonatal outcomes were similar in the two groups.

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