Epidural analgesia in midtrimester abortion

Abstract

Epidural analgesia was performed in 78 women with abortion in the midtrimester or pre-term delivery of up to 27 weeks of pregnancy. The patients were divided into three groups. The first group included thirty women with signs of inevitable abortion. The second group comprised of 9 cases of induced abortion and the third one of 39 cases of pre-term delivery. The three groups were statistically evaluated in relation to time of abortion or labor, fetal weight, weeks of pregnancy, parity and patient's age and were consequently compared with 90 women divided into three similar control groups. The effect of the epidural analgesia was satisfactory in all cases in the three experimental groups, and no complications or side-effects were observed. The advantages of the use of epidural analgesia were the diminished psychological reaction to the abortion, the possibility to perform surgical procedures without any additional anesthesia and the reduction in the duration of the abortion or labor. These advantages justified in our opinion the use of the procedure.