Epidural Fentanyl-bupivacaine Versus Clonidine-bupivacaine for Breakthrough Pain in Advanced Labor
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00691795. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Comparison of Fentanyl-bupivacaine and Clonidine-bupivacaine for Breakthrough Pain in Advanced Labor in Patients With Continuous Epidural Analgesia
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Epidural analgesia is widely regarding as the most effective analgesic strategy for labor pain. Modern practice is to utilize dilute local anesthetics as a continuous infusion along with an opioid, e.g., our common "recipe" of 12 ml/hr of 0.0625% bupivacaine with 2 micrograms/ml fentanyl, after the initial dose to maintain patient comfort until delivery. This dose of the infusion often provides adequate comfort without interfering with the mobility of the patient and her ability to effectively push during delivery. However, this low dose epidural infusion strategy often results in recurrence of pain after an initial pain free period. This breakthrough pain is treated by administering small boluses of analgesics via the epidural catheter. The pain occurring in labor is initially of visceral origin and is mediated by pain fibers originating from the low thoracic and upper lumbar segments of the spinal cord. As labor progresses to the late first phase (also known as transitional stage), pain sensations originating from the distension of the pelvic floor, vagina and perineum adds a somatic component to labor pain. This type of breakthrough pain is often difficult to treat. Although requests from patients to alleviate late stage breakthrough pain are common, no one knows the most effective strategy for pain management in this stage of labor. This study is designed to compare the efficacy of two treatments for controlling late first stage breakthrough pain during labor with an epidural infusion in place: clonidine-bupivacaine versus fentanyl-bupivacaine. Women who have labor epidural analgesia in place will be enrolled to be randomized if and when they present with breakthrough pain in the late first stage or second stage of labor (≥ 8 cm dilated). They will receive 8 ml of a solution containing 10 mg bupivacaine and 75 micrograms of either fentanyl (an opioid or "narcotic") or clonidine (an "alpha-2 agonist known to be effective as an epidural analgesic). Pain relief, labor progress and outcome will be assessed to compare fentanyl versus clonidine. It is the hypothesis of this study that clonidine added to bupivacaine is a better analgesic than fentanyl added to bupivacaine for breakthrough pain in advanced labor.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT00691795
- Recruitment status
- Withdrawn
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Enrollment
- Not listed
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- Female
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Not listed
- Primary completion
- Not listed
- Completion
- Nov 30, 2011
- Last update posted
- Feb 13, 2012
Ends 2011
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia University Medical Center | New York | New York | 10032 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00691795, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Feb 13, 2012 · Synced Sep 6, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT00691795 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.