The analgesic effect of sufentanil combined with ropivacaine 0.2% for labor analgesia: A comparison of three sufentanil doses

The combination of opioids with local anesthetics is commonly used for epid ural labor analgesia. We examined whether increasing sufentanil in doses of 5, 10, and 15 mug prolonged the duration of labor analgesia produced by ro pivacaine. One hundred healthy parturients in the first stage of labor who requested epidural analgesia were enrolled. Parturients were randomized to receive 12 mt ropivacaine 0.2% alone or with sufentanil 5 mug, sufentanil 1 0 mug, Or sufentanil 15 mug. The duration of analgesia, pain score, degree of motor blockade (using a four-point Bromage scale), heart rate, blood pre ssure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and incidence of nausea and pru ritus were recorded. The mean duration of epidural analgesia was 96 +/- 32 min for patients without sufentanil, 134 +/- 27 min for Group 5 (p < 0.01 v ersus control), 135 +/- 33 min for Group 10 (p < 0.01 versus control), 130 +/- 33 min for Group 15 (p < 0.01 versus control) without differences among sufentanil groups. Between 30 and 90 min, the sufentanil groups (5 <mu>g, 10 mug, and 15 mug) had lower pain scores than the control group (p < 0.01 versus control) but there were no differences among the sufentanil groups. No patient in any group had a Bromage score more than 1. No significant dif ference was found for opioid-related side effects. We conclude that 5-10 or 15 <mu>g sufentanil induced a similar prolongation of analgesia when combi ned with ropivacaine 0.2% for initiation of labor analgesia.