Abstract

Introduction - Perception of pain by a laboring female is a dynamic process that involves both peripheral and central mechanisms.The ideal technique for labor analgesia should provide rapid, effective, economical and safe pain relief for all stages of labor without compromising fetal vital physiology and wellbeing. It should not hamper the normal process of labor and should be flexible enough to convert to anaesthesia for urgent operative delivery or other intervention. Such an ideal technique would leave the mother awake, alert, and comfortable with preserved ability to ambulate and bear down throughout the labor. Hence the present study was designed to compare efficacy of two different doses of Dexmedetomidine (5mcg vs. 10mcg) when added to Bupivacaine and Fentanyl combination in single dose intrathecal labour analgesia.
Methodology - The study was done as the randomized controlled double blind study with 80 participants. A sample size 72 was calculated anticipating minimum of 20% decrease in VAS Score at the time of delivery considering significance of 95% {α 0.05} and 80% Power of study {β 0.2}, thus we will be undertaking this study in 80 patients, which is clearly larger than 72 patients as calculated.  Double blind randomization was done to allocate. Fulfilling the inclusion criteria, they were allocated into two equal groups of 40 patients using computerized block Randomization Technique.
Results - As intrathecal labor analgesia, also covers the duration of labour from 4-6cm cervical dilation till delivery of baby in maximum number of patients, it is a very good alternative to epidural analgesia in remote and far flung areas where epidural analgesia is not possible.