Fetal diagnosis and therapy
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Fetal. Diagn. Ther. · Nov 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialInitiating extradural analgesia during labour: comparison of three different bupivacaine concentrations used as the loading dose.
Potential effects of extradural analgesia on the progress of labour and obstetric outcome are still a matter of concern and the focus of ongoing debates. Despite this, little attention is paid to the initiation of extradural labour analgesia. The objective of this prospective, randomized, double-blind trial was to identify the optimal of three concentrations of bupivacaine used as a loading bolus for initiating extradural analgesia during labour. ⋯ Of the three concentrations used in this clinical setting, 0.125% was the most suitable concentration of plain bupivacaine to initiate extradural analgesia in labour. Using 0.25% bupivacaine increased the incidence of motor block, whereas for 0.0625% plain bupivacaine the probability to achieve adequate analgesia was unacceptably low.