ABSTRACT
Epidural analgesia was used for 86 deliveries by cesarean section. The placement of a catheter in the epidural space allowed adjustment of the extent of the block so that supplementary analgesia was required in only six patients. Continuous fetal heart rate monitoring was of practical clinical value, especially in treating maternal hypotension. Symptomatic hypotension was avoided or corrected by the intravenous infusion of Hartmann's solution and by the use of a lateral tilt of the operating table. Eleven patients had a blood pressure of less than 100 mm Hg, and in three of these, there was an adverse effect on the fetal heart trace.
Subject(s)
Anesthesia, Conduction/methods , Anesthesia, Epidural/methods , Anesthesia, Obstetrical/methods , Cesarean Section , Anesthesia, Inhalation , Bupivacaine , Female , Fetal Heart , Fetal Monitoring , Heart Rate , Humans , Hypotension/complications , Hypotension/prevention & control , Infusions, Parenteral , PregnancyABSTRACT
Plastic syringes of 5 and 20 ml capacity of various composition were filled with either 8% CO2 in nitrogen or with 50% O2 in nitrogen. The syringes were closed with plastic stopcocks, stored on benches in a laboratory, and the gas concentrations within the syringes was measured at intervals up to 33 hours. Changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions in the first three hours were negligible. Over the longer time span carbon dioxide diffusion was 18-65 times faster than that of oxygen.