Epidural Neostigmine Versus Fentanyl to Decrease Bupivacaine Use in Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia During Labor a Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Study
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Epidural Neostigmine versus Fentanyl to Decrease Bupivacaine Use in Patient-controlled Epidural Analgesia during Labor A Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Study Jessica L. Booth, M.D., Vernon H. Ross, M.D., Kenneth E. Nelson, M.D., Lynnette Harris, B.S.N., James C. Eisenach, M.D., Peter H. Pan, M.D. ABSTRACT Downloaded from http://pubs.asahq.org/anesthesiology/article-pdf/127/1/50/379751/20170700_0-00015.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 Background: The addition of opioids to epidural local anesthetic reduces local anesthetic consumption by 20% but at the expense of side effects and time spent for regulatory compliance paperwork. Epidural neostigmine also reduces local anesthetic use. The authors hypothesized that epidural bupivacaine with neostigmine would decrease total hourly bupivacaine use com- pared with epidural bupivacaine with fentanyl for patient-controlled epidural analgesia. Methods: A total of 215 American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status II, laboring parturients requesting labor epi- dural analgesia consented to the study and were randomized to receive 0.125% bupivacaine with the addition of either fentanyl (2 μg/ml) or neostigmine (2, 4, or 8 μg/ml). The primary outcome was total hourly local anesthetic consumption, defined as total patient-controlled epidural analgesia use and top-ups (expressed as milliliters of 0.125% bupivacaine) divided by the infusion duration. A priori analysis determined a group size of 35 was needed to have 80% power at α = 0.05 to detect a 20% difference in the primary outcome. Results: Of 215 subjects consented, 151 patients were evaluable. Demographics, maternal and fetal outcomes, and labor char- acteristics were similar among groups. Total hourly local anesthetic consumption did not differ among groups (P = 0.55). The total median hourly bupivacaine consumption in the fentanyl group was 16.0 ml/h compared with 15.3, 14.6, and 16.2 ml/h in the 2, 4, and 8 μg/ml neostigmine groups, respectively (P = 0.55). Conclusions: The data do not support any difference in bupivacaine requirements for labor patient-controlled epidural analgesia whether patients receive epidural bupivacaine with 2 to 8 μg/ml neostigmine or epidural bupivacaine with 2 μg/ml fentanyl. (ANESTHESIOLOGY 2017; 127:50-57) RADITIONALLY epidural infusions for labor analge- What We Already Know about This Topic T sia have consisted of a combination of local anesthetic plus an adjuvant opioid. The addition of an opioid to epi- • Single- and intermittent-dose epidural neostigmine reduces dural local anesthetic reduces the dose of local anesthetic local anesthetic requirement for labor analgesia • Effects of adding neostigmine to epidural local anesthetic needed for analgesia, thereby minimizing side effects from infusion on local anesthetic consumption for labor analgesia local anesthetic blockade, especially maternal motor block are unknown and, potentially, hypotension. However, these epidurally What This Article Tells Us That Is New administered opioids can produce side effects themselves, including pruritus and decreased fetal heart rate variability.1 • Adding neostigmine (2, 4, or 8 μg/ml) to bupivacaine for patient-controlled epidural analgesia during labor did not For these reasons, there has been interest in nonopioid adju- reduce bupivacaine requirement compared with bupivacaine vants to reduce epidural local anesthetic dose. The cholines- plus fentanyl terase inhibitor, neostigmine, produces analgesia when given intrathecally or epidurally, via increased acetylcholine stimu- lation of spinal muscarinic and possibly nicotinic receptors.2 contrast, epidural administration of neostigmine has been Studies of intrathecal neostigmine in the mid to late shown in both adults and children to reduce local anes- 1990s demonstrated analgesic efficacy and lack of neurologic thetic requirements in the postoperative setting without injury but also dose-dependent, severe nausea and vomit- nausea and vomiting.5–9 Epidural neostigmine also has been ing, and further clinical development was abandoned.3,4 In shown in small, single-dose studies to reduce epidural local This article is featured in “This Month in Anesthesiology,” page 1A. Submitted for publication June 27, 2016. Accepted for publication April 4, 2017. From the Department of Anesthesiology, Section on Obstetric Anesthesiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Copyright © 2017, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Anesthesiology 2017; 127:50-57 Anesthesiology, V 127 • No 1 50 July 2017 Copyright © 2017, the American Society of Anesthesiologists,<zdoi;10.1097/ALN.0000000000001669> Inc. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. PERIOPERATIVE MEDICINE anesthetic requirement for labor analgesia to a degree simi- Carolina; No. 5917), written informed consent for study par- lar to that of opioids, including a study in which epidural ticipation was obtained before a patient’s request for labor analgesia was titrated via patient-controlled epidural anal- epidural analgesia. Parturients were eligible to participate gesia (PCEA).10–12 In contrast to opioids, there are no large if they were American Society of Anesthesiologists physical randomized controlled studies evaluating the effects of epi- status II, spoke English, weighed less than 115 kg, were in dural neostigmine as an adjunct to local anesthetics in the active labor with a single fetus, had cervical dilation 5 cm or obstetric population for continuous PCEA during labor. The less, and had not received IV analgesics within 60 min before purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of epidural administration. Patients with allergies to local anes- epidural neostigmine, 2, 4, or 8 μg/ml, with that of a com- thetics, fentanyl, or neostigmine also were excluded. The monly used concentration of fentanyl (2 μg/ml) when added institutional review board initially approved the enrollment to 0.125% bupivacaine via PCEA during labor. We hypoth- of 200 patients for a goal of 160 evaluable patients, but an Downloaded from http://pubs.asahq.org/anesthesiology/article-pdf/127/1/50/379751/20170700_0-00015.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 esized that epidural bupivacaine with neostigmine would amendment to increase the number of enrolled patients to reduce total hourly bupivacaine use compared with epidural 220 was approved in April 2013 due to the need to replace bupivacaine with fentanyl for labor analgesia. A secondary excluded or ineligible patients. Based on updated data used analysis was intended to evaluate the clinical dose response in our power analysis, our goal of 40 evaluable patients per of 2 to 8 μg/ml of epidural neostigmine on local anesthetic group also was revised at that time to a minimum of 35 consumption for labor analgesia compared with 2 μg/ml of patients per group for the final analysis (fig. 1). fentanyl if significant clinical differences were detected for all Patients were randomized in a balanced manner to one of doses of neostigmine studied. four study groups via a computer-generated number allot- ment that was concealed in a sealed envelope. At the time Materials and Methods of epidural labor analgesia request, an anesthesiologist not The study was registered before recruitment of the first sub- involved in the patient’s care or data collection prepared the ject (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; NCT00779467), was epidural study solution. All members of the patient’s care performed under Investigational New Drug (No. 42281) team were blinded to the assignment and study drug. A lum- oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and bar epidural catheter was inserted after the administration was reviewed on an ongoing basis by a data safety monitor- of a combined subarachnoid and intravenous test dose with ing board. After approval from the institutional review board 45 mg lidocaine and 15 μg epinephrine. Patients were ran- (Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, South domized to receive 15 ml bupivacaine, 1.25 mg/ml, mixed Fig. 1. Enrollment diagram. VAS = visual analog scale. Anesthesiology 2017; 127:50-57 51 Booth et al. Copyright © 2017, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. Epidural Neostigmine versus Fentanyl for Analgesia with one of four adjuvant medications: 2 μg/ml fentanyl We obtained permission from the institutional review board or 2, 4, or 8 μg/ml phenol-free neostigmine methylsulfate to increase the number of enrolled patients because we did (1 mg/ml, American Regent, USA; 10-ml multidose vial but not have enough evaluable patients after 200 patients con- discarded after single use). If the patient reported a verbal sented initially. Study enrollment occurred over a 5-yr period pain score greater than 3 on a 0 to 10 scale at 20 min after (October 2008 to November 2013), with intermittent pauses epidural injection, she was excluded from the study and the in enrollment due to neostigmine shortages, researcher avail- epidural catheter was replaced or managed by the anesthesi- ability for enrollment, and technical issues. Final analysis of ologist at his or her discretion. the previous neostigmine study by Ross et al.12 revealed a After the initial dosing of the epidural catheter with the mean bupivacaine use of 11.9 ± 3.0 ml/h. With these new study solution to establish labor analgesia, a PCEA infusion data, a sample size of 35 evaluable