A single preoperative dose of 100 mg pregabalin does not reduce acute pain or improve recovery after minor surgery involving only the uterus.

P Pu ur rp po os se e: : We compared the efficacy of epidural continual intermittent boluses (CIB) with a continuous epidural infusion (CEI) in prolonging labour analgesia induced by the combined spinal epidural (CSE) technique.M Me et th ho od ds s: : CSE was instituted in 42 nulliparous parturients at the L3 to 4 level with intrathecal (IT) fentanyl 25 µg followed by an epidural test dose of 3 mL of 1.5% lidocaine. These parturients were then randomly assigned to receive either epidural CIB (n = 21) or CEI (n = 21) with 0.1% ropivacaine and fentanyl 2 µg·mL -1 . For the CIB, 5 mL boluses were given hourly, with the first bolus 30 min postinduction. CEI at the rate of 5 mL·hr -1 was initiated in the minute after CSE. The duration of analgesia, pain score, degree of sensorimotor block were compared. R Re es su ul lt ts s: : From Kaplan Meier survival analysis, the duration of analgesia was significantly longer in CIB (mean survival time 239 ± SD 24 min vs 181 ± 17, P < 0.05 using log rank test). During the first three hours postblock, the median sensory block to cold was higher in CIB (P < 0.05, Mann U Whitney test) but no difference in blood pressure was detected [P > 0.05, repeated measure analysis of variance (RMANOVA)]. The serial pain scores were lower in the CIB (P < 0.05, RMANOVA).C Co on nc cl lu us si io on n: : CIB prolonged the duration and improved the quality of analgesia. CIB could have resulted in an improved spread of analgesics in the epidural space or encouraged a direct passage of infusate into the IT space. This could have also rendered a higher sensory block to cold in the CIB group. CIB is a good alternative to CEI for the maintenance of epidural analgesia after CSE. Objectif : Comparer l'efficacité de bolus périduraux intermittents administrés en continu (BIC) avec la perfusion péridurale continue (PPC) comme analgésie prolongée pendant le travail induite selon une technique rachidienne péridurale combinée (RPC). Méthode : L'analgésie RPC a été installée chez 42 parturientes nullipares au niveau L3 à 4 avec 25 µg de fentanyl intrathécal (IT) suivi d'une dose test péridurale de 3 mL de lidocaïne à 1,5 %. Les patientes ont été randomisées pour recevoir soit des BIC périduraux (n = 21), soit une PPC (n = 21) avec ropivacaïne à 0,1 % et 2 µg·mL -