[Transcutaneous electric stimulation of the brain: a comparative study of the effects of its combination with peridural anesthesia using bupivacaine-fentanyl during obstetrical analgesia].

In order to test the effectiveness of Anesthelec (transcutaneous cranial electrical stimulation with Limoge currents) during labour and delivery, a randomized study was carried out in 120 primiparous women with extradural anaesthesia during active labor. Combination of transcutaneous cranial electrical stimulation with epidural bupivacaine administration has been showed to provide a 20% pain relief prolongation of the first bupivacaine injection. Statistical studies of drug requirement during labor, of cervical dilatation duration, of mode and duration of delivery and of analgesia quality showed no beneficial additive effect of electrical stimulation for obstetrical analgesia when extradural anaesthesia is performed.