Edwards N D, Hartley M, Clyburn P, Harmer M
University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff.
Anaesthesia. 1992 May;47(5):435-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1992.tb02229.x.
A double-blind randomised study was performed to assess the value of the addition of pethidine 50 mg to the initial dose of bupivacaine given for epidural analgesia in labour. Forty-nine patients received either 1 ml of saline (n = 24), or 50 mg of pethidine (n = 25), added to 9 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine as an initial injection for intrapartum epidural analgesia. There was a significant increase in the mean duration of analgesia in the pethidine group. However, pethidine did not increase the speed of onset of analgesia, or improve the quality of analgesia.
