Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Feb 1992
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialEpidural patient-controlled analgesia after cesarean section: buprenorphine-0.015% bupivacaine with epinephrine versus fentanyl-0.015% bupivacaine with and without epinephrine.
We compared the analgesia, side effects, and plasma concentrations of buprenorphine and fentanyl in a double-blind study of 78 parturients receiving one of these drugs by patient-controlled epidural infusion after elective cesarean section with epidural anesthesia. Patients were randomized to three epidural infusion groups: group 1 (n = 26), 3 micrograms/mL buprenorphine with 0.015% bupivacaine and 1 microgram/mL epinephrine; group 2 (n = 26), 3 micrograms/mL fentanyl with 0.015% bupivacaine and 1 microgram/mL epinephrine; and group 3 (n = 26), 3 micrograms/mL fentanyl with 0.015% bupivacaine. Plasma for determination of opioid concentrations was obtained in some subjects in each group at intervals up to 48 h during the infusion and in some subjects from each group at intervals after the infusion was stopped. ⋯ Mean opioid plasma concentrations did not exceed 1.5 ng/mL. Thus, epidural patient-controlled analgesia in all three groups provided excellent analgesia, permitted ambulation, and was without serious side effects. Epidural buprenorphine offered no advantages over epidural fentanyl.