A randomised comparison of intravenous remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia with epidural ropivacaine/sufentanil during labour

Abstract Background The μ-opioid agonist remifentanil has a rapid onset and offset and a short half-life making it an attractive option for intravenous patient-controlled labour analgesia. We aimed to compare the efficacy of intravenous remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia with epidural ropivacaine/sufentanil during labour. Methods Parturients were randomly assigned to receive intravenous patient-controlled analgesia with remifentanil ( n =10) or epidural analgesia ( n =10). Pain and satisfaction scores were assessed every hour by means of visual analogue scale, together with an observer sedation score. Side effects and neonatal outcome were noted. Results After one hour, visual analogue pain scores had decreased significantly in both groups (remifentanil: −3.8±2.6, P P P Conclusions In the 20 patients recruited to this study, pain relief in labour with epidural ropivacaine/sufentanil was more effective than with intravenous remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia.