The effect of Epidural Analgeisa With Ropivacaine Plus Sufentanil on the Fetal Position Duing Labor

Objective To investigate the effect of epidural analgesia with ropivacaine plus sufentanil on the fetal position during labor.Methods Women were eligible for enrollment if they were ASA Ⅰ ～ Ⅱ,nulliparous and undergoing a spontaneous labor at term (≥ 37 weeks of gestation ) with a live,singleton fetus in the occiput anterior position.400 women in active labor (cervical dilatation =3 cm) who requested labor analgesia were in epidural analgesia group (group B).Other 400 women who did not receive labor analgesia were in the control group (group C).Women in group B received a test dose of 5 ml of 0.1％ ropivacaine with 0.8 μ g/ml-1 sufentainl.When correct placement of epidural catheter was confirmed after 5 mins another 5 ml was given.30 mins after the first dose was given,the epidural cather was connected to the patient controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) pump.The PCEA solution contained 0.1％ ropivacaine and sufentanil 0.3 μ g/ml-1.The PCEA pump was set up with a bolus of 6 ml and lockout interval of 15 mins.The following were recorded:① the fetal position before and after delivery; ② pain intensity was assessed using VAS (0-10); ③ mode of delivery; ④ labor process; ⑤ the amount of oxytocin.Results No statistically significant difference was found in the incidence of fetal head malposition and caesarean section in group C and in goup B (14.75 ％ VS 11.75％,15.50％ VS 14.75％,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Epidural analgesia with ropivacaine plus sufentanil did not increase the incidence of fetal head malposition. Key words: Ropivacaine;  Sufentanil;  Epidural analgesia;  Fetal position;  Labor