Effect of lateral position and volume on the spread of epidural anaesthesia in the parturient

The effect of lateral positioning and the volume of drug injected on the spread of epidural anaesthesia was assessed in 131 healthy parturients. Epidural injection for anaesthesia was done at the L3-4 interspace and a catheter was inserted into the epidural space after injection of the drug. The patients were randomly assigned to four groups. The doses used were 12 ml of bupivacaine 0.25 per cent and 6 ml of bupivacaine 0.5 per cent. Patients were kept in the lateral position in which the block was done (Groups I and III) or turned to the opposite side after completion of the epidural injection (Groups II and IV). Sensory levels and maternal assessment of pain relief were determined fifteen to twenty minutes after injection. All assessments were done by a trained observer who did not know to what group the patient had been allocated. Maintenance of the lateral position after induction of epidural anaesthesia is compatible with satisfactory analgesia for labour. Twelve ml bupivacaine 0.25 per cent provides better analgesia than 6 ml bupivacaine 0.5 per cent although the same mass is injected. The quality of analgesia is improved by turning the patients to the contralateral side after injection of 12 ml bupivacaine 0.25 per cent.