Does epidural versus combined spinal-epidural analgesia prolong labor and increase the risk of instrumental and cesarean delivery in nulliparous women?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare duration of labor, mode of delivery, and local anesthetic consumed in women who received labor analgesia with epidural or combined spinal-epidural technique. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational study. SETTING: Delivery room of a university hospital. PATIENTS: 788 nulliparous women in labor at term with cervical dilation between three and 5 cm. INTERVENTIONS: In Group E (epidural alone), parturients received an epidural solution of 8 mL (levobupivacaine 0.125% with fentanyl 5 microg/mL). In Group CSE (combined spinal-epidural), parturients received a spinal injection of levobupivacaine two mg with fentanyl 15 microg (total volume two mL). Then an epidural catheter was placed in all patients and connected to a patient-controlled analgesia pump (basal infusion rate of 8 mL/hr of 0.1% levobupivacaine and fentanyl two microg/mL, patient-controlled bolus dose of three mL, and lockout time of 30 min). MEASUREMENTS: Labor duration, mode of delivery (spontaneous vaginal vs. instrumental delivery vs. cesarean section), and local anesthetic consumed, were recorded. MAIN RESULTS: Labor analgesia was performed with an epidural technique in 322 patients (40.9%), and a combined spinal-epidural technique in 466 patients (59.1%), of whom 39 Group E women (12.1%) and 46 Group CSE women (9.9%) required cesarean section (P=ns). No differences in the mode of delivery were observed between the groups. Time from analgesia to delivery (Group E: 217 +/- 111 min vs. Group CSE: 213 +/- 115 min; P=ns), and epidural local anesthetic consumed (Group E: 35 +/- 20 mL vs. Group CSE: 33 +/- 20 mL; P=ns), were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: No significant differences were observed between epidural and combined spinal-epidural given for labor analgesia in nulliparous women in duration of labor, mode of delivery, or local anesthetic consumed.