Optimal Dose of Ropivacaine Combined with 0.5 μg/mL Dexmedetomidine in Epidural Analgesia for Labor: A Randomized Controlled Study

Aim: To observe the clinical effects, adverse reactions and influence of different concentrations of ropivacaine in combination with 0.5 μg/mL dexmedetomidine on maternal and infant outcomes in labor analgesia and explore the optimal dose of ropivacaine combined with dexmedetomidine (0.5 μg/mL) in clinical labor analgesia application.Methods: A total of 120 full-term primiparous women were divided randomly into three groups: Group A, Group B and Group C (𝑛=40). The doses of ropivacaine combined with 0.5 μg/ml dexmedetomidine in Group A, Group B and Group C were 0.1%, 0.075% and 0.06%, respectively. The following items were observed and recorded: 1. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), saturation of pulse oximetry (SpO2), visual analog scale (VAS) score, modified Bromage score, Ramsay sedation scores (RSS) before labor analgesia (T0), 10 min after labor analgesia (T1), 30 min after labor analgesia (T2), 1 h after labor analgesia (T3) and at the ending of the first stage of labor or before cesarean section (T4); 2. Analgesic effect, labor time, intrapartum hemorrhage, neonatal Apgar score and neonatal umbilical artery pH; 3. The occurrence of adverse reactions during the entire labor.Results: Compared with Group C, Group A and Group B had better analgesic efficacy (P＜0.05). Compared with Group A , Group B and Group C had lower one-side motor block and higher rates of vaginal birth (P＜0.05). Conclusions: For epidural labor analgesia, 0.075% ropivacaine combined with 0.5 μg/mL dexmedetomidine can achieve satisfactory analgesic effects and contribute to low incidence of adverse reactions and less impact on delivery modes.