ED90 of Bupivacaine After Lidocaine Test Dose with DPE and EPL

Purpose

The primary objective of our study is to use a biased coin up-down allocation methodology to estimate the dose of bupivacaine required after the lidocaine test dose to achieve initial effective comfort in 90% of patients (post test-dose ED90) via the epidural (DPE or EPL) technique in women undergoing labor induction or augmentation; the investigators hypothesize that the investigators will be able to determine the post test-dose ED90 of bupivacaine for each technique with adequate precision to inform the optimal doses to study in a subsequent randomized trial comparing the analgesic effects of DPE vs. EPL. The investigators also hypothesize that the post test-dose ED90 of bupivacaine is lower with a DPE technique than with a conventional epidural technique.

Condition

  • Labor Pain

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
All ages
Eligible Genders
Female
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  1. Parturient with no major co-morbidities 2. Singleton, vertex gestation at term (37-42 weeks) 3. Less than or equal to 5 cm dilation 4. Desire to receive epidural labor analgesia 5. Numerical Rating Scale greater than or equal to 5 (NRS 0-10, where 0 = no pain, and 10 = worst pain imaginable), at time of epidural labor analgesia request.

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Current or historical evidence of clinically significant disease or condition, including diseases of pregnancy (i.e., preeclampsia, gestational diabetes) 2. Any contraindication to the administration of an epidural technique (e.g., thrombocytopenia, antiplatelet meds). 3. History of hypersensitivity or idiosyncratic reaction to an amide local anesthetic agent 4. Evidence of anticipated fetal complications (i.e., fetal anomalies, IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction), oligohydramnios, polyhydramnios)

Study Design

Phase
Phase 4
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Sequential Assignment
Intervention Model Description
A Randomized Biased-Coin Sequential Allocation Trial
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
DPE Group
Subjects will receive an epidural catheter via a dural puncture epidural technique.
  • Drug: Bupivacaine Hydrochloride
    Each subject will receive allocated dose of bupivacaine
Active Comparator
EPL Group
Subjects will receive an epidural catheter via a traditional epidural technique.
  • Drug: Bupivacaine Hydrochloride
    Each subject will receive allocated dose of bupivacaine

Recruiting Locations

Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Contact:
Ayumi Maeda, MD PhD
1-617-732-8216
amaeda@bwh.harvard.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Study Contact

Lawrence Tsen, MD
617-732-8216
ltsen@bwh.harvard.edu

Detailed Description

The investigators will be conducting a randomized controlled trial with patients randomized into either an EPL or a DPE group. For the first subject in the DPE and EPL techniques, the initial dose of bupivacaine 25 mg will be used, with an endpoint being the achievement of an NRS < 3 at 30 min. Subsequent patients are administered bupivacaine doses determined by the response of the previous subject, as per the biased coin method. The subsequent up and down interval doses are bupivacaine 2.5 mg (1 mL) increments. Hence, if the first subject does not respond successfully, the dose for the second subject will be bupivacaine 27.5 mg. If the second subject does not respond successfully, the dose for the third subject will be bupivacaine 30 mg. By contrast, if a subject responds successfully, the bupivacaine dose will be decreased to 22.5 mg with a probability of 10% and maintained with a probability of 90% (ratio 1:9).