Effect of the use of dexmedetomidine as a local anesthetic adjuvant to bupivacaine 0.125% in epidural labor analgesia: randomized controlled study

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Abstract

Background
Multiple methods exist for the management of pain during normal labor. Epidural analgesia has been reported to be an effective method in that perspective. The current study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to local anesthetics in epidural analgesia for pregnant females presented for normal delivery. Sixty pregnant females were included in this prospective randomized study, and they were divided into two equal groups: control group which received bupivacaine alone and dexmedetomidine group that received bupivacaine with dexmedetomidine. The primary outcome was the onset of analgesia, while the secondary outcomes included the duration of analgesia, hemodynamic changes, labor progress, neonatal outcomes, and maternal complications.
Results
Dexmedetomidine group was associated with earlier onset of analgesia ( 0.001), prolonged duration ( 0.001), and lower need for top-up doses ( 0.001) compared to control group. Also, sedation and maternal satisfaction were significantly better in the same group ( = 0.001, 0.025; respectively). Labor progress parameters and neonatal outcomes were comparable between the two groups. Dexmedetomidine group has lower heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure compared to the control group. Despite of dexmedetomidine group had higher incidence of hypotension and bradycardia, it was statistically insignificant when compared to control group.
Conclusions
Dexmedetomidine is a reliable and an effective adjuvant to the local anesthetics in epidural analgesia during normal delivery as it resulted in earlier onset and significant prolongation of the analgesic time with decrease in the top-up doses intake.
Trial registration
Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (). Register on 3 October 2017.

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