Intravenous dexamethasone as an adjunct to improve labor analgesia: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: To study the role of intravenous (i.v.) dexamethasone as an analgesic adjunct in labor analgesia.

Design: Double-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Labor analgesia in a tertiary-care teaching hospital.

Patients: Eighty consenting ASA I-II parturients, age>18year, nulliparous, single gestation, cephalic presentation at ≥36 wk. of gestation, in early spontaneous labor (cervical dilatation≤5cm) requesting epidural analgesia.

Interventions: The patients were randomized to two groups. The Dexa group received 8mg of dexamethasone i.v. in 50ml normal saline approximately 45min before the procedure. Placebo group patients received 50ml normal saline only. All patients underwent epidural labor analgesia per hospital protocol. After an initial bolus, they received continuous background infusion of 5ml/h of 0.1% of levobupivacaine with 2μg/ml of fentanyl, with the provision of patient controlled boluses of 5ml of the same drug combination with a lockout interval of 12min if needed.

Measurements: Primary outcome measure: hourly average consumption of neuraxially administered levobupivacaine-fentanyl combination. Secondary outcomes and observations: pain score, maternal satisfaction, sensory and motor block characteristics, hemodynamic parameters of mother, fetal heart rate, duration of second stage of labor, mode of delivery, Apgar scores at 1 and 5min, and adverse effects.

Main results: Average hourly drug consumption was significantly lower in Dexa group as compared to Placebo group (10.34±1.79ml/h vs. 11.34±1.83ml/h; mean difference 1.007, 95% CI 0.199-1.815; P=0.015). The median number of bolus doses was 4 (interquartile-range [IQR] 3-5.75) and 5 (IQR 3-6) in the Dexa and Placebo groups, respectively (P=0.162). There was no significant difference between groups with regard to pain scores, maternal satisfaction and hemodynamics, mode of delivery, and adverse effects.

Conclusions: I.v. dexamethasone significantly decreased hourly average drug consumption of levobupivacaine-fentanyl combination through the epidural route, demonstrating the epidural drug dose sparing effect during labor analgesia.

Keywords: Dexamethasone; Epidural; Fentanyl; Intravenous; Labor analgesia; Levobupivacaine.