Analgesia in childbirth - comparison and analysis of the classical technique of epidural analgesia and modified with puncture of the dura mater

Epidural analgesia (EA), most commonly used for labor analgesia, is an effective and relatively safe technique, but may be associated with slow onset, inadequate block. The use of Dural puncture epidural (DPE) is designed to find a balance between improving the quality of analgesia and reducing the frequency of side effects. Purpose - to compare two methods of labor analgesia. Materials and methods. All women (n=80) were divided into two groups: the Group I (n=40) used DPE, the Group II (n=40) used EA. In both groups, the same technique of epidural puncture and catheterization was used, in the Group I additionally puncture of the dura mater. Analgesia was evaluated using the visual analog pain rating scale (VAS). The quality and effectiveness of analgesia, the hemodynamics of the woman were evaluated. Complications and unwanted effects were recorded. Fetal condition: cardiotocography (CTG), umbilical cord blood lactate, pH. A statistical analysis of the obtained data was carried out. Results. The first contraction (VAS1) in the Group I were fixed on 11.43.3 min, and in the Group II on 21.57.2 min (p0.05). Monolateral block in the Group I - 4 (10%) versus 10 (25%) (p0.05). Contractions (VAS 1) after 30 min in the Group II - 7 (17.5%) versus the absence of such in the Group I. Stroke volume in the Group I decreased by 2.1% versus 1.5% in the Group II. The data for hypotension and occurrence of complications, CTG, cord blood lactate, and pH were not different by group. Conclusions. The use of the DPE technique against EA gives better results in terms of the quality and effectiveness of analgesia. The mother’s hemodynamics remained stable when using DPE. The DPE technique does not increase the frequency of complications compared to EA. There was no difference between the groups when assessing the state of the fetus according to CTG data, pH indicators and umbilical cord blood lactate. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of participating institution. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies. No conflict of interest was declared by the author.