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Author Spotlight: Enhancing Success of Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Anesthesia in Cases with Difficult Anatomy
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Non-Neuraxial Labor Analgesia: Options

John C Markley1, Mark D Rollins

  • 1Departments of *Anesthesia and Perioperative Care †OB/GYN and Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California.

Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology
|February 22, 2017
PubMed

Although it is the most effective method to treat labor pain, neuraxial analgesia may be undesired, contraindicated, unsuccessful, or unavailable. Providing safe choices for labor pain relief is a central goal of health care providers alike. Consequently, knowledge of the efficacy, clinical implementation, and side effects of various non-neuraxial strategies is needed to provide appropriate options for laboring patients. In addition to nonpharmacologic alternatives, inhaled nitrous oxide and systemic opioids represent two broad classes of non-neuraxial pharmacologic labor analgesia most commonly available. This review summarizes the current published literature for these non-neuraxial labor analgesic options.

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