Background: Labor analgesia remains the center of interest for both obstetricians and women. The safety of the traditional pharmacologic analgesics remains questionable due to their potential fetal and maternal compli...Background: Labor analgesia remains the center of interest for both obstetricians and women. The safety of the traditional pharmacologic analgesics remains questionable due to their potential fetal and maternal complications. Therefore, several non-pharmacological modalities were evaluated for their safety and efficacy to relieve labor pain. Among these methods, transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) gained much concern due to ease of use, low cost and high capacity for women self-titration. The study aims to investigate the efficacy of TENS in reducing labor pain associated with vaginal deliveries, and to determine the factors controlling the response to TENS. Methods: The study was a randomized, controlled clinical trial. A total of 390 women candidates for vaginal delivery were randomly allocated to 3 groups of intervention: paracetamol infusion, TENS, and intramuscular pethidine (130 women per group). The primary endpoint was pain intensity assessed on 10-point VAS scale and women satisfaction. Secondary endpoints included maternal or fetal complications. Results: VAS scores recorded during vaginal deliveries demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in TENS group compared to paracetamol at 15, 30 minutes, 1 and 2 hours, while pethidine arm demonstrated lower scores than TENS group (p < 0.001). The intermediate analgesic efficacy of TENS was preserved when evaluating episiotomy related pain scores. Analysis of differences between good and poor responders to TENS indicated that weight, BMI, education level and the stimulation characteristics were statistically different between the two subgroups (p < 0.001). Adverse maternal and fetal outcomes in TENS arm were comparable to paracetamol and significantly less than pethidine. Conclusion: TENS is a reliable labor pain analgesic with comparable efficacy and superior safety relative to pethidine. Clinicians should personalize TENS therapy according to women’s BMI and education level for optimized pain control.展开更多
<strong>Background:</strong> <span style="font-family:;" "=""><span>Induction of labor is commonly performed in obstetric practice. Many methods have been suggested as ...<strong>Background:</strong> <span style="font-family:;" "=""><span>Induction of labor is commonly performed in obstetric practice. Many methods have been suggested as good predictors of the outcome of labor induction, yet none of them is satisfactory enough. Our study aims to assess cervical length and uterocervical angle measured by transvaginal ultrasound as predictors of successful induction of labor. </span><b><span>Methods:</span></b><span> Prospective cohort study conducted in Ain Shams University Maternity hospital over 150 nulliparous women undergoing induction of labor, in the period between May 2018 and August 2019. Transvaginal sonographic measurement of cervical length and uterocervical angle was done before induction of labor by prostaglandins. The patients were followed up till delivery and the outcome was recorded. </span><b><span>Results:</span></b><span> The best cut-off value of cervical length for prediction of success of labor induction was 32.3 mm with 60% sensitivity and 56% specificity and the best cut-off value of uterocervical angle was 110.2 degrees with 87% sensitivity and 93% specificity. The cervical length showed a significant negative correlation while the uterocervical angle showed a significant positive correlation with the success of labor induction. </span><b><span>Conclusion:</span></b><span> Cervical length and uterocervical angle are good predictors of successful labor induction.展开更多
文摘Background: Labor analgesia remains the center of interest for both obstetricians and women. The safety of the traditional pharmacologic analgesics remains questionable due to their potential fetal and maternal complications. Therefore, several non-pharmacological modalities were evaluated for their safety and efficacy to relieve labor pain. Among these methods, transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) gained much concern due to ease of use, low cost and high capacity for women self-titration. The study aims to investigate the efficacy of TENS in reducing labor pain associated with vaginal deliveries, and to determine the factors controlling the response to TENS. Methods: The study was a randomized, controlled clinical trial. A total of 390 women candidates for vaginal delivery were randomly allocated to 3 groups of intervention: paracetamol infusion, TENS, and intramuscular pethidine (130 women per group). The primary endpoint was pain intensity assessed on 10-point VAS scale and women satisfaction. Secondary endpoints included maternal or fetal complications. Results: VAS scores recorded during vaginal deliveries demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in TENS group compared to paracetamol at 15, 30 minutes, 1 and 2 hours, while pethidine arm demonstrated lower scores than TENS group (p < 0.001). The intermediate analgesic efficacy of TENS was preserved when evaluating episiotomy related pain scores. Analysis of differences between good and poor responders to TENS indicated that weight, BMI, education level and the stimulation characteristics were statistically different between the two subgroups (p < 0.001). Adverse maternal and fetal outcomes in TENS arm were comparable to paracetamol and significantly less than pethidine. Conclusion: TENS is a reliable labor pain analgesic with comparable efficacy and superior safety relative to pethidine. Clinicians should personalize TENS therapy according to women’s BMI and education level for optimized pain control.
文摘<strong>Background:</strong> <span style="font-family:;" "=""><span>Induction of labor is commonly performed in obstetric practice. Many methods have been suggested as good predictors of the outcome of labor induction, yet none of them is satisfactory enough. Our study aims to assess cervical length and uterocervical angle measured by transvaginal ultrasound as predictors of successful induction of labor. </span><b><span>Methods:</span></b><span> Prospective cohort study conducted in Ain Shams University Maternity hospital over 150 nulliparous women undergoing induction of labor, in the period between May 2018 and August 2019. Transvaginal sonographic measurement of cervical length and uterocervical angle was done before induction of labor by prostaglandins. The patients were followed up till delivery and the outcome was recorded. </span><b><span>Results:</span></b><span> The best cut-off value of cervical length for prediction of success of labor induction was 32.3 mm with 60% sensitivity and 56% specificity and the best cut-off value of uterocervical angle was 110.2 degrees with 87% sensitivity and 93% specificity. The cervical length showed a significant negative correlation while the uterocervical angle showed a significant positive correlation with the success of labor induction. </span><b><span>Conclusion:</span></b><span> Cervical length and uterocervical angle are good predictors of successful labor induction.
