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British Journal of Anaesthesia, Vol 81, Issue 6 899-901, Copyright © 1998 by The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Epidural pain relief in labour: potencies of levobupivacaine and racemic bupivacaine

G. Lyons, M. Columb, R. C. Wilson and R. V. Johnson
St James' University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF; Intensive Care Unit, Withington Hospital, Nell Lane, Manchester M20 2LR

We have compared the minimum local analgesic concentrations (MLAC) of levobupivacaine relative to racemic bupivacaine in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, sequential allocation study. Women in labour were given a 20-ml bolus of epidural levobupivacaine or bupivacaine diluted to a concentration determined by up-down sequential allocation. The initial concentration was 0.07% w/v for both drugs. Efficacy was defined using a visual analogue pain score (VAPS) at 10 mm or less within 30 min. The MLAC of levobupivacaine was 0.083% w/v (95% CI 0.065- 0.101) and the MLAC of bupivacaine 0.081% w/v (95% CI 0.055-0.108). In molar terms, the MLAC of levobupivacaine was 2.87 mmol litre-1 (95% CI 2.25-3.49) and the MLAC of bupivacaine 2.49 mmol litre-1 (95% CI 1.69- 3.32). With regard to the commercial preparations, the potency ratio levobupivacaine: bupivacaine was 0.98 (95% CI 0.67-1.41), and this is unlikely to be of clinical relevance. In molar terms, the ratio was 0.87 (95% CI 0.60-1.25). With regard to toxicity, the evidence should be evaluated in the light of a possible 13% potency difference in molar concentration in favour of racemic bupivacaine.
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