Anaesthesia
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We prospectively studied the relationship between upper facial sensory-evoked muscle potential amplitude, uterine contraction amplitude and heart rate in 20 healthy parturients during the first stage of labour. Monitoring began when minimal pain was reported and continued until severe pain occurred and extradural analgesia was established. Pain intensity was assessed by each patient using a 10 cm visual analogue score. ⋯ No constant relationship was seen between heart rate and uterine contraction. Following extradural analgesia (mean pain scores of 2.1 cm, SD 1.3 cm) a variable relationship between sensory evoked muscle potential and uterine contraction amplitude, and heart rate and uterine contraction, was recorded. A continuous display of the relationship between filtered sensory evoked muscle potentials of the frontalis muscle and uterine contraction may, in the future, permit an objective assessment of the adequacy of analgesia following extradural analgesia for the pain of labour.
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Biography Historical Article Classical Article
A new mechanical ventilator. 1961.