Effect of epidural analgesia with ropivacaine plus sufentanil in accouchement

Objective To estimate the effect of epidural analgesia with ropivacaine 0.1% plus sufentanil 0.3 μg/ml on obstetric and neonatal outcome.Methods Sixty women each conceiving a live single birth with vertex presentation at term were recruited in this study.They were all ASA physical status Ⅰ and Ⅱ patients and could use the pump for patient controlled analgesia easily.The patients randomized to two groups:epidural and non-epidural group with 30 women in each group.Epidural analgesia was initiated by a bolus of ropivacaine 0.1% plus sufentanil 0.3 μg/ml(6-10 ml),followed by ropivacaine 0.1% plus sufentanil 0.3 μg/ml at the rate of 5 ml/h.Non-epidural group recepted nothing about analgesia.Visual analog scale(VAS,0-10),motor block,duration of labor,mode of delivery,rate of using oxytocin,volume of bleeding within two hours after parturition,incidence of subsequent adverse reaction and Apgar score(1 min and 5 min) were recorded.Results VAS scores in group of epidural analgesia decreased significantly,and there were no significant differences in other indexes between the two groups.Conclusion There is no significant side effect of epidural analgesia on obstetric and neonatal outcome with ropivacaine 0.1% plus sufentanil 0.3 μg/ml administered by the mode of bolus and continuous injection.