COMPARISON OF 3 DIFFERENT LOADING DOSES TO ESTABLISH EPIDURAL ANALGESIA IN LABOR

Women requesting epidural analgesia were randomized to receive one of three loading doses. Group 1 received a single dose of bupivacaine 9.3 75 mg (15 mi of 0.0625%) containing fentanyl 37.5 mu g and adrenaline 37.5 mu g, group 2 received a single dose of bupivacaine 15 mg (15 mi of 0.1%) containing fentanyl 30 mu g and adrenaline 30 mu g, and group 3 received a test dose of bupivacaine 10 mg (4 mi of 0.25% - test) fo llowed 5 min later by bupivacaine 20 mg (8 mi of 0.25% - loading). All groups received an infusion of bupivacaine 0.0625% with fentanyl 0.00 025% and adrenaline 0.00025% at 10-12 ml/h started 15 min after the lo ading dose. Speed of onset of analgesia was the same in all three grou ps, with the majority of women achieving satisfactory analgesia by 20 min. Motor block was significantly increased in group 3 at 30 min, but by 1 h there was no difference in motor block between the groups.