Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 15:27:e929283.
doi: 10.12659/MSM.929283.

Risk Factors and Safety Analyses for Intrapartum Fever in Pregnant Women Receiving Epidural Analgesia During Labor

Jie Ren  1 , Tao Wang  1 , Bo Yang  1 , Lihua Jiang  1 , Linglan Xu  1 , Xiaoyuan Geng  1 , Qian Liu  1
Affiliations

Risk Factors and Safety Analyses for Intrapartum Fever in Pregnant Women Receiving Epidural Analgesia During Labor

Jie Ren et al. Med Sci Monit. .

Abstract

BACKGROUND We aimed to explore the factors leading to epidural-related maternal fever and the influence of intrapartum fever on neonates. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective analysis was performed on data from pregnant women who received epidural analgesia during labor. The primary aim was to determine the influence of epidural labor analgesia on the incidence of intrapartum fever in pregnant women. The secondary aim was to determine the influence of intrapartum fever on neonates. RESULTS Logistic regression analysis showed that premature rupture of membranes (OR=2.008, 95% CI: 1.551-2.600), vaginal examination performed more than 6 times (OR=1.681, 95% CI: 1.286-2.197), long duration of labor (OR=1.090, 95% CI: 1.063-1.118), and long time from rupture of membranes to delivery (OR=1.048, 95% CI: 1.010-1.087) were all risk factors for intrapartum fever in pregnant women with epidural labor analgesia. Regarding the secondary research outcome, the incidence of intrapartum fever was significantly associated with the number of neonates with Apgar score of 10 delivered from pregnant women with epidural labor analgesia (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the transfer rate of newborns to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Premature rupture of membranes, vaginal examination performed more than 6 times, long duration of labor, and long time from rupture of membranes to delivery are all factors raising the risk of fever during epidural labor analgesia. Although intrapartum fever in the mothers had a significant influence on the number of neonates with Apgar score of 10, it did not affect the outcome of neonates in terms of NICU transfer rate.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wong CA, Scavone BM, Peaceman AM, et al. The risk of cesarean delivery with neuraxial analgesia given early versus late in labor. N Engl J Med. 2005;352(7):655–65. - PubMed
    1. Matsukawa T, Sessler DI, Christensen R, et al. Heat flow and distribution during epidural anesthesia. Anesthesiology. 1995;83(5):961–67. - PubMed
    1. Goetzl L, Rivers J, Zighelboim I, et al. Intrapartum epidural analgesia and maternal temperature regulation. Obstet Gynecol. 2007;109(3):687–90. - PubMed
    1. Smulian JC, Bhandari V, Vintzileos AM, et al. Intrapartum fever at term: Serum and histologic markers of inflammation. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;188(1):269–74. - PubMed
    1. Fusi L, Steer PJ, Maresh MJ, Beard RW. Maternal pyrexia associated with the use of epidural analgesia in labour. Lancet. 1989;1(8649):1250–52. - PubMed