European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background- Effective pain relief and minimum motor block are the necessary constituents of an ideal epidural block. Fentanyl is a lipophilic opioid most commonly used as an adjuvant to local anaesthetic. Ropivacaine is an alternative to bupivacaine, with greater sensitivity for sensory fibres than motor fibres, thus producing less motor blockade than bupivacaine. This study assessed the analgesic effect of very low dose fentanyl (1mcg/ml) as an adjuvant to either ropivacaine or bupivacaine. without compromising its beneficial effects and avoiding the undesired side effects. AIM- To study the effect of fentanyl as an adjuvant to bupivacaine and ropivacaine in epidural analgesia for laboringparturient. Method- 44 nulliparous labouring parturients of ASA I & II at term with singleton pregnancy of vertex presentation without any obstetric complication were randomly allocated into two groups of 22 each. Group B received bupivacaine 0.125% with fentanyl 1 mcg/ml bolus dose till VAS<3. Similarly, Group R received ropivacaine 0.125% with fentanyl 1 mcg/ml. Analgesia was maintained with intermittent bolus of study solution. Analgesic efficacy was measured in terms of duration of analgesia, onset of analgesia, highest level of sensory block, motor block, side effects if any; obstetric and neonatal outcomes were also recorded. Results- There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of duration of analgesia, level of sensory block achieved, time required to achieve level of sensory block, motor block or side effect profile. There were minimal side effects and neonatal outcomes were good. Obstetric outcomes and maternal satisfaction level was also comparable between the two groups. Conclusion- Fentanyl when used in a low dose of 1 mcg/ml with equal concentration of two local anaesthetic bupivacaine and ropivacaine provides good analgesia in all stages of labour avoiding the side effects of opioids.