Prophylactic intravenous ephedrine to minimize fetal bradycardia after combined spinal-epidural labour analgesia: a randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The combined spinal-epidural (CSE) technique for relief of labour pain offers both rapid onset and superior first-stage analgesia. Nevertheless, the known increased risk for early profound fetal bradycardia (EPFB) following CSE continues to be a concern that often limits its use. The purpose of this study was to determine if giving prophylactic intravenous ephedrine at the time of CSE administration would reduce EPFB. METHODS: We conducted this clinical trial at a large community hospital and enrolled healthy patients requesting epidural analgesia for labour. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either normal saline placebo or ephedrine 10 mg iv at the time of CSE. The primary outcome of EPFB (defined as bradycardia < 90 beats·min(-1) for > two minutes and occurring within the first 30 min after CSE) was compared between groups. The secondary outcomes included the incidence of urgent cesarean delivery, the requirement for additional doses of ephedrine, maternal blood pressure, uterine hypertonus and tachysystole, and abnormal fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns before and after CSE. RESULTS: There were 299 women randomized to the ephedrine (EPH) group and 297 randomized to the normal saline placebo (NS) group. There was no difference between groups in the incidence of EPFB (2.7% EPH group vs 4.7% NS group; relative risk, 0.57; 95% confidence interval, 0.24 to 1.33; P = 0.184). There was also no difference between groups in the incidence of urgent cesarean delivery, uterine hypertonus, uterine tachysystole, and abnormal FHR patterns. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that prophylactic intravenous ephedrine administration at the time of CSE during labour was ineffective at reducing the risk for EPFB associated with CSE. Nevertheless, a lower than expected rate of EPFB resulted in the trial being underpowered. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02062801.

A randomized controlled comparison of epidural analgesia and combined spinal-epidural analgesia in a private practice setting: pain scores during first and second stages of labor and at delivery.

BACKGROUND: There has been no prospective evaluation of combined spinal-epidural (CSE) analgesia in a private practice setting and few studies have focused on pain relief during the second stage of labor and at delivery. In this randomized controlled trial, we compared verbal pain scores during the first and second stages of labor and at delivery in women receiving CSE or traditional epidural analgesia at a busy private maternity hospital. METHODS: Healthy, term parturients received epidural or CSE analgesia for labor pain upon request. Epidural analgesia was initiated with 0.125% bupivacaine plus 2 µg/mL fentanyl, 15 mL; CSE analgesia was initiated with intrathecal plain bupivacaine 3.125 mg plus 5 µg fentanyl. Thereafter, patient-controlled epidural analgesia with 0.125% bupivacaine plus 2 µg/mL fentanyl was used for maintenance analgesia in both groups. The primary outcome was an assessment of "typical" pain, using a verbal rating pain score from 0 to 10, made at the end of the first stage of labor and shortly after delivery. RESULTS: Data from 398 epidural and 402 CSE subjects were analyzed. The typical verbal rating pain score during the first stage was lower in the CSE group (mean: 1.4 vs 1.9; P < 0.001; 99.5% confidence interval [CI] for difference: -0.92, -0.14). Pain scores during the second stage of labor (1.7 vs 1.9; P = 0.17; 99.5% CI for difference: -0.82, 0.28) and at delivery (2.0 vs 2.0; P = 0.77; 99.5% CI for difference: -0.73, 0.59) were the same between groups. Fewer patients received an epidural top-up dose in the CSE group (16.4% vs 25.6%; P = 0.002; 99.5% CI for difference: -17.0%, -1.0%). Epidural catheters were replaced in 1.2% CSE vs 2% in the epidural group (P = 0.39; 99.5% CI for difference: -3.3%, 1.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with traditional epidural labor analgesia, CSE analgesia provided better first-stage analgesia despite fewer epidural top-up injections by an anesthesiologist.

Direct functionalization of benzylic C-Hs with vinyl acetates via Fe-catalysis.

Direct cross-coupling to construct sp3 C-sp3 C bonds via Fe-catalyzed benzylic C-H activation with 1-aryl vinyl acetate was developed.