Comparative Study of Bupivacaine-Fentanyl versus Ropivacaine-Fentanyl for Epidural Analgesia in Labor

BACKGROUND: Labor pain is one of the most intense pains that a woman experiences. Almost 60% of primiparous women described the pain of uterine contractions as unbearable extremely severe or excruciating. AIMS: Our study aimed to relieve pain suffering of mother and to decrease fetal acidosis to make the delivery process safer for mother and baby. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Thus, epidural labor analgesia was designed comparing ropivacaine-fentanyl (RF) and bupivacaine-fentanyl (BF) as intermittent bolus technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty women who requested epidural analgesia having ≥3 cm cervical dilatation were allocated in two groups, one group received RF and the other group received BF. Each group received study drug 16 mL with 50 μg fentanyl and top of 10 mL and 25 μg fentanyl when visual analog scale (VAS) ≥3. The efficacy of analgesia, adverse effects, and obstetric and neonatal outcomes were compared. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: For skewed data or ordered categorical data, nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-test was used for statistical analysis of two groups. For categorical data, comparisons were made by Pearson's Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate (%). RESULTS: Both groups were comparable in terms of demographic data and obstetric and neonatal parameters at the onset of labor Comparison of heart rate, systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, and saturation between Group RF and Group BF. It was found statistically not significant. VAS score before the epidural study drug was given, was 5 (4–5) in RF group, and was 5 (3–6) in BF group, and after 1 min, VAS score was 1 in both the groups thereafter. The score remained zero till at 100 min in both the groups till the time when the top-up dose was given. Bearing down reflex was present in all the patients as judged by the obstetrician. It was sluggish in 20% of patients in Group RF as compared to 10% in Group BF. CONCLUSIONS: From clinical and safety perspective, both RF and BF were reasonable choice for labor analgesia.