ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of different administration methods for labor analgesia.Methods:This randomized controlled study was conducted on 152 parturient women who underwent vaginal delivery at the Xinxiang Central Hospital from February to June 2023. These women were divided into a control group and an observation group, with 76 women per group. Women in the control group received 3 mL of 0.1% ropivacaine hydrochloride after routine epidural catheterization, followed by 3 mL of analgesic drugs after 3 minutes. For those without any special reactions, an analgesic pump containing 9 mL of medication was used after 3 minutes until the end of labor. In the observation group, 3 mL of 0.1% ropivacaine hydrochloride was administered as a trial dose before the epidural catheter was inserted into the epidural space. After 3 minutes, the postpartum woman lay flat and was given another 3 mL of analgesic pump medication. After 3 additional minutes, an additional 9 mL of the medication was administered. The analgesic pump was connected and turned on until the catheter was removed after delivery. The epidural catheter failure rate was assessed in each group. Before epidural puncture (T 1), within 30 minutes after the onset of anesthesia (T 2), and at the time of full dilation of the cervix (T 3), Visual Analogue Scale scores, the number of patient attempts to additionally use an analgesia pump, maternal satisfaction, the number of cases requiring cesarean section conversion, the incidence of adverse reactions (such as nausea, vomiting, and fever), and Apgar scores for newborns were recorded in each group. Results:The epidural catheter failure rate in the observation group was 1.3% (1/76), which was significantly lower than 10.5% (8/76) in the control group ( χ2 = 5.79, P < 0.05). At T 2 and T 3, the Visual Analogue Scale score in the observation group was (0.89 ± 0.08) points and (2.1 ± 0.07) points, respectively, which were significantly lower than (2.55 ± 0.07) points and (3.35 ± 0.07) points in the control group ( t = 238.54, 133.17, both P < 0.001). The number of patient attempts to additionally use an analgesia pump in the observation group was (1.00 ± 0.84) counts, which was significantly less than (4.00 ± 0.65) counts in the control group ( t = 29.47, P < 0.001). Maternal satisfaction in the observation group was 100% (76/76), which was significantly higher than 92.1% (70/76) in the control group ( χ2 = 6.25, P < 0.05). The number of cases requiring cesarean section conversion in the observation group was 0 (0/76), which was significantly lower than 52.6% (4/76) in the control group ( χ2 = 4.10, P < 0.05). Conclusion:Administering a trial dose (3 mL) of 0.1% ropivacaine hydrochloride before placing the epidural catheter during labor analgesia can greatly increase the placement success rate of the catheter and enhance pain relief effectiveness. This has a certain clinical application value.