Korean J Anesthesiol.  1999 Aug;37(2):262-267. 10.4097/kjae.1999.37.2.262.

Comparison of Analgesic Effect of Fentanyl and Butorphanol during Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia for Labor Pain Control

• Kim DH
• Kim SK
• Koh KS

• KMID: 2237013
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.1999.37.2.262

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study examined the efficacy of patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) during labor and compared the suitability of fentanyl and butorphanol mixed with bupivacaine.
METHODS
After establishing effective epidural analgesia with 10 ml of 0.125% bupivacaine mixed with fentanyl 5 microgram/ml or butorphanol 1 mg/ml, 60 parturients in active labor were randomly assigned to one of two groups: PCEA using 0.0625% bupivacaine with fentanyl 2 microgram/ml (fentanyl group); PCEA using 0.0625% bupivacaine with butorphanol 20 microgram/ml (butorphanol group). PCEA pumps were programmed to deliver a 4 ml/hr basal infusion, 4 ml on-demand bolus, 10-min lockout intervals between doses, and a 20 ml hourly limit. Visual analogue pain scores, side effects, parturients' satisfaction scores, duration of labor and Apgar scores were recorded during and after labor.
RESULTS
The quality of analgesia, side effects, duration of labor, overall satisfaction and Apgar scores didn't differ between the two groups. Average hourly infusion rates were 11.8 0.3 ml/hr (fentanyl group) and 13.9 0.4 ml/hr (butorphanol group).
CONCLUSIONS
PCEA is a safe and effective method for labor analgesia and both solutions, the 0.0625% bupivacaine plus fentanyl 2 microgram/ml and the 0.0625% bupivacaine plus butorphanol 20 microgram/ml, appear suitable for PCEA use for labor pain. There is no difference in effectiveness between fentanyl and butorphanol.

Keyword

Analgesia, patient-controlled (PCA); Analgesics, fentanyl, butorphanol; Anesthesia, techniques, epidural

MeSH Terms

Analgesia
Analgesia, Epidural*
Bupivacaine
Butorphanol*
Female
Fentanyl*
Labor Pain*
Pregnancy
Bupivacaine
Butorphanol
Fentanyl