Effects of epidural analgesia with ropivacaine plus sufentanil on mother in labor and newborn

Objective To evaluate the effects and the most appropriate concentration of epidural analgesia with ropivacaine plus sufentanil on the mother and the newborn using self administrated epidural analgesia in labor.Methods 100 parturients were randomly assigned to five groups(n=20 for each group).Group F(control),0.1% ropivacaine plus fentanyl 2μg/ml was used.In experimental groups:S1,S2,S3,S4,0.1% ropivacaine was administrated with the addition of 0.3,0.4,0.6 and 0.8 μg/ml of sufentanil respectively.All parturients with cervical dilatation of 3-4 cm received 10-15 ml solution of epidural anesthetic of ropivacaine plus sufentanil or fentanyl.The self administrated epidural analgesia were initiated after epidural anesthesia 30 min,injected anesthetic solution as above in each group.The following data were collected:the vital signs,VAS,the onset time of analgesia,Bromage motor score of block,mode of delivery,and side effects.Results The VAS at 5 min and 10 min in the S2、S3 and S4 groups were lower than those in the S1 and F group(P0.05),At 30 min in the F、S2、S3 and S4 groups,VAS were lower than that in the S1 group(P0.05).There were no differences of VAS at 60 min,90 min among five groups(P0.05).The onset time of analgesia in S2、S3 and S4 were faster than those S1 and F(P0.05);Motor block did not occur in any patient.The mode of delivery、neonatal Apgar scores were similar among five groups The incidence of pruritus was significantly higher in group S4 than others.Conclusion ropivacaine 0.1% plus sufentanil 0.4 μg/ml provides effective analgesia with less side effects.