Inhaled Nitrous Oxide and Labor Analgesia

• Status: Terminated
• Trial end date: 2013-10-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: Female

Summary

Hypothesis: The administration of nitrous oxide for labor analgesia will decrease the labor epidural anesthesia rate by 15%.

Specific Aim: To determine if nitrous oxide can be an effective alternative technique for the provision of labor analgesia at Magee-Womens Hospital.

• Phase: Phase 2
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh; Ya'aqov Abrams
• Collaborator: University of Pittsburgh
• Treatments: Entonox; Nitrous Oxide

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• all women of childbearing age (including children aged 14 years and above)who are pregnant

• parturients who request labor analgesia of family medicine investigators certified in the use of nitrous oxide for labor analgesia at Magee-Women's Hospital

• informed verbal and written consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• coexisting medical conditions that are contraindications to the use of nitrous oxide (i.e. recent eye or ear surgery, history of Meniere's disease, history of vitamin B-12 deficiency)

• history of severe nausea and vomiting

• history of chronic pain

• inability to hold a facemask

• impairment of consciousness or intoxication at time of delivery

• received intravenous opioids within two hours prior to initiation of nitrous oxide

• impaired oxygenation (ex: lung cysts, pneumothorax, pulmonary hypertension, or pulmonary edema) with a room-air pulse oximetry reading less than 95%

• hemodynamic instability

• non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracing

• inability to read, write and understand the English language enough to complete all survey questionnaires and pain assessment scales.