Comparison between 0.06% and 0.1% Levobupivacaine Combined with 2 μg/mL of Fentanyl for Epidural Labor Analgesia

Takako Hamada, Mariko Baba, Masaki Sato, Takayuki Saito, Keisuke Murakami, Hiroyuki Sumikura

Obstetric Anesthesia Department, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojanes.2013.39080                

Abstract

Purpose: Levobupivacaine is thought to be a good alternative to bupivacaine for epidural labor analgesia because of its pharmacologic profile. However, the optimal concentration of levobupivacaine for labor analgesia has not been adequately studied. The objective of this retrospective study was to compare the analgesic effect of levobupivacaine between 0.06% and 0.1% both combined with 2 μg/mL of fentanyl. Methods: Primiparous women (ASA I, II) who delivered their babies to our hospital using combined spinal epidural analgesia and patient-controlled epidural analgesia between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011 were included into this retrospective study. The analgesic solution for epidural administration was 0.06% levobupivacaine with 2 μg/mL of fentanyl between August 1 and 31, and 0.1% levobupivacaine with 2 μg/mL of fentanyl between September 1 and 30. Their anesthetic and obstetric charts were reviewed to compare obstetric outcome, anesthetic intervention, and patients’ satisfaction. Results: There were 46 women fulfilling the inclusion criteria: 23 women in 0.06% group, and 23 women in 0.1% group. The number of patients who needed more than 3 requests for one actual bolus was significantly higher in the 0.06% group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results revealed that 0.06% levobupivacaine combined with 2 μg/mL fentanyl does not provide sufficient analgesic effects for epidural labor analgesia. It seems that levobupivacaine has not been adequately studied after its withdrawal from the US market. Further studies should be conducted to determine the optimal concentration of levobupivacaine for epidural labor analgesia.

Keywords

PCEA; CSEA; Labor Analgesia; Levobupivacaine

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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