Effects of Adding Oxycodone to Levobupivacaine on Epidural Labor Analgesia: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE To investigate the safety and effects of adding oxycodone to levobupivacaine on epidural analgesia during labor. METHODS One hundred pregnancy nulliparous parturients were randomly divided into 2 groups. The experimental group received 0.2 mg·mL^-1 oxycodone plus 0.1% levobupivacaine and the control group received 2 μg·mL^-1 fentanyl plus 0.1% levobupivacaine for epidural analgesia. The onset of analgesia, the duration of analgesia, labor duration, labor mode, blood pressure, Apgar scores of neonate and analgesic effect. Umbilical arterial blood was collected to analysis. The adverse effects were also recorded. RESULTS VAS was lower than that before analgesia in both groups(P<0.01). However, the VAS score in the first stage of labor between the 2 groups was statistically significant(P<0.05). There were no significant differences in term of the onset of analgesia, labor duration, Bromage scores, labor mode, blood gas of umbilical arterial blood and Apgar score between the groups during labor, but the duration of analgesia was longer in experiment group than that in control group(6.2±1.4)h vs (1.1±0.3)h, P<0.01. The incidence of pruritus was higher in experiment group than in control group(16% vs 2%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Levobupivacaine with oxycodone has good analgesic effect and lasting duration of analgesia, and does not affect labor duration and the neonate, but increases the incidence of pruritus.