Abstract
Lumbar epidural analgesia with bupivacaine was administered to 33 women for relief of pain during labor. At delivery blood samples were drawn from the umbilical cord vessels and from a maternal peripheral vein. Blood samples were also collected from the neonate and its mother, 1, 4, and 20 hours after delivery. Analyses of bupivacaine concentrations were carried out in all samples with a gas-chromatographic technique. The drug concentration in the umbilical vein (UV) was usually higher than the corresponding umbilical artery value (UA), but with increasing time interval between the last bupivacaine injection and delivery the UAUV drug concentration ratio rose. After delivery the rate of drug decline in blood was similar in mother and newborn infant. The clinical condition of the infant was unrelated to the drug concentration in the umbilical cord vessels.
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