Remifentanil Patient-Controlled Intravenous Analgesia for Labor Pain Relief: Is It Really an Option to Consider?

(Abstracted from Anesth Analg, 124(4):1029–1031, 2017) Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) using remifentanil is a moderately effective nonneuraxial, parenteral opioid analgesic for labor pain relief in patients with contraindications to neuraxial analgesia. A survey of academic teaching centers across the United States by Aaronson et al1 (“A Survey of Intravenous Remifentanil Use for Labor Analgesia at Academic Medical Centers in the United States”) emphasizes the potential risks of respiratory depression associated with the use of intrapartum remifentanil PCIA.
Source: Survey of Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Obstetric Anesthesia Source Type: research