Long-term epidural analgesia treatment in pre-eclamptic women: A preliminary trial

Abstract

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a clinical pregnancy-related condition, characterised by an elevated blood pressure and proteinuria. The author treated selected cases of PE with long-term epidural analgesia (LTEA), that reduced labour pain and operated directly on the PE aetiopathogenesis, not on the symptoms. A total of 15 women with PE were hospitalised at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy, checked for blood pressure, liver and renal function, platelet count and had an epidural catheter inserted for a continuous administration of an analgesic mixture of Naropin, Sufentanil and Clonidine. The average weeks at delivery were 37 weeks and 1 day; 10 women had a spontaneous delivery and five a caesarean section: the mean birth weight was 2,906 g and the Apgar scores at 1 min and 5 min exceeded 7 in all cases. All the parameters improved after hospital admission and at discharge. All the patients were discharged in good condition and no patients needed supplementary antihypertensive treatment. The LTEA utilisation for 1 week is well tolerated and improves uteroplacental perfusion, but further studies and a larger number of patients are required to evaluate this pharmacological procedure and determine its place in the management of PE.

Sufentanil alleviates pre-eclampsia via silencing microRNA-24-3p to target 11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2

“…Additionally, long-term epidural analgesia, including SUF, alleviates the labor pain in PE patients and immediately targets the pathogenesis of PE for operation [ 9 ]. Nevertheless, the latent mechanism of SUF targeting PE remains uncertain.…”

“…SUF reduces ropivacaine-stimulated apoptosis of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells via mediating miR-182-5p/BCL10/CYCS axis [ 8 ]. Emerging research has also reported that SUF cures PE in combination with other drugs like long-term epidural analgesia (LTEA), naloxone, and Clonidine [ 9 ]. Nevertheless, the action of SUF alone in PE and its latent mechanism remain unknown.…”

Epidural therapy for the treatment of severe pre-eclampsia in non labouring women

“…Extended epidural analgesia has also been reported to be welltolerated for up to one week (Malvasi 2009).…”

Impact of Epidural Analgesia on Quality of Life and Pain in Advanced Cancer Patients

“…When a catheter is placed into the epidural space, a continuous infusion can be maintained for several days, if needed. Epidural analgesia successfully has been used for postoperative analgesia, the treatment of back pain, chronic pain, and palliation of symptoms in terminal care (Ezhevskaia & Prusakova, 2012;Malvasi et al, 2009;Richter et al, 2002;Schulte et al, 2008). Evidence that use of epidural analgesia also enhances the recovery process would lead to wider adoption of this method and better quality of care for surgical patients (Fotiadis, Badvie, Weston, & Allen-Mersh, 2004;Yeh et al, 2005).…”