Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2002 Jun;15(3):299-303. doi: 10.1097/00001503-200206000-00004.
Current opinion in anaesthesiology
Marc Van de Velde
PMID: 17019216 DOI: 10.1097/00001503-200206000-00004
Neuraxial opioids have changed the practice of obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia dramatically. Excellent analgesia with minimal side effects started an era of ever increasing numbers of women who opt for the 'painless birth experience'. Several papers have been reported during 2001 that examine analgesic efficacy, maternal side effects, and effect on foetal well-being of epidural and spinal opioids. Foetal bradycardia following intrathecal opioid analgesia, an increasingly popular technique, has attracted particular attention over the past few years. The present review addresses recently reported work that, according to the author, is key to this field.
