Effect of Intravenous Vitamin C on Intrapartum Maternal Fever After Epidural Labor Analgesia

Effect of Intravenous Vitamin C on Intrapartum Maternal Fever After Epidural Labor Analgesia : A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to explore the effect of intravenous vitamin C infusion on intrapartum fever after epidural labor analgesia, to reduce the impact of intrapartum fever on maternal and infant, improve maternal and infant outcomes, and provide a reference for clinical preventive medication.

Parturients who request pain relief would receive epidural labor analgesia after the obstetrician and anesthesiologist jointly evaluated and approved. The epidural catheter was inserted at the intervertebral space of either L2-3 or L3-4. 5 ml 1.5% chloroprocaine (with 1:200,000 epinephrine) as a test was delivered to parturients via the catheter. Then parturients would be observed for 5 min whether there were adverse reactions and then were given an initial dose of 10 ml ropivacaine 0.08% with sufentanil 0.3 µg/ml. After that, a patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) pump (240ml 0.08% ropivacaine with sufentanil 0.3 µg/ml) would be attached to the catheter. The pump would be set to administer an 8 ml bolus every 20 minutes and a 2 ml patient-controlled bolus with the same interval. Subsequently, trained nursing staff would take charge of the parturients and inform the obstetrician. The basic condition of parturients was monitored during the whole process. After that, parturients in each group will be administered vitamin C intravenously except the group for placebo-controlled.

Inclusion Criteria:

• single-fetus, head position, and full-term vaginal delivery receiving epidural labor analgesia.

Exclusion Criteria:

• have a fever before epidural analgesia, acute infection on admission, incomplete baseline data, fatal fetal malformations or comorbidities, duration from admission to delivery of more than 72 hours or less than 3 hours, or an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification of ≥ Ⅲ.