Ropivacaine and bupivacaine for combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for caesarean section

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of ropivacaine and bupivacaine for combined spinal-epidural anesthesia(CSEA)for caesarean section.Methods Forty patients,ASA gradeⅠ~Ⅱ,(25~)32 years old,undergoing elective caesarean section were randomly allocated to receiving spinally hyperbaric mixture 2ml of 1% ropivacaine(group B,n=20),0.75% bupivacaine(group R,n=20),combined with 10% glucose 1ml and 3% ephedrine 1ml respectively,and the anesthesia was maintained with epidural administration with 2% lidocaine if necessary during the operation,after the AS-ES combined spinal epidural anesthesia,it was applied at the L_(2~3) clearance.Sensation,motor block,recovery,Apgar score for neonates,adverse during operation were observed and compared.Results The time to maximum spread of anesthesia was similar in group R and group B.Compared with ones in group B,the onset of motor block and the time to peak motor block were prolonged significantly(P0.05),the maximum modified Bromage scale was decreased statistically(P0.01),the recovery time of motor block was shortened(P0.05) in group R.Apgar score of the neonates was similar in two groups.As nausea and vomiting and so on,were not recorded.Conclusion Ropivacaine and bupivacaine are effective and safe for CSEA for both parturient and neonate.The recovery from motor block is faster with ropivacaine than that with bupivacaine.