Comparative Maternal and Neonatal Effects of the New and the Old Formulations of 2-Chloroprocaine

The effects of epidural bisulfite-free chloroprocaine with and without 1:300,000 epinephrine during labor and delivery on uterine activity, progress of labor, fetal heart rate, maternal blood pressure, newborn Apgar scores, neonatal acid base status, and the Neurologic and Adaptive Capacity Scoring System (NACS) were studied in 100 parturients. Patients in group I (n=49) received 2% chloroprocaine with 1:300,000 epinephrine and patients in group II (n=51) received 2% chloroprocaine alone. All patients obtained satisfactory analgesia with chloroprocaine, with no major adverse experience. Duration of analgesia was significantly longer in group I than in group II patients (70.8±3.1 minutes versus 50.4±1.8 minutes, P