Continuous Caudal Anesthesia: Analysis of 1,200 Cases with Comparison of Methods

Abstract

In the last hundred years obstetrics has evolved from a series of traditional rituals into a practical science. At the beginning of this transition the important points stressed were those concerning the care and delivery of the mother. Later, as the specialty developed and mortality rates declined, it was possible to give consideration to the mother's physical suffering. Also a variety of drugs became available, with morphine, scopolamine and the barbiturates becoming the most valuable for the management of labor. Their use, however, is objectionable owing to their depressing effect on the baby. Since the discovery of local anesthesia and the technic of caudal block, many obstetric cases have been managed with single injection caudal anesthesia for the second stage. This was not satisfactory, since it was not dependable and because other analgesia was necessary up to the point of delivery. Therefore the same objection to this type of management