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Programmed intermittent epidural bolus in maintenance of epidural labor analgesia: a literature review

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Abstract

Programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB), administered by the infusion pump programmed to deliver boluses of epidural solution at certain intervals, is gradually gaining more attention as a technique to maintain the labor analgesia in recent years. Many studies find that it may have some advantages when compared with other methods. However, its exact effectiveness and optimal regimen are still unclear. We conducted a literature search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for studies published between January 2010 and June 2022. Of the 263 publications identified, 27 studies were included. The purpose of this review is to discuss the effects of PIEB with continuous epidural infusion (CEI) and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) in maintenance of epidural labor analgesia on labor outcomes and elucidate the latest research progress of implementation strategies.

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Data availability

The data of this work are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Sheng**g Hospital of China Medical University, No. 36 Sanhao Street He** District, Shenyang, CN 110004, Liaoning Province, China

    Fanshu Ni, Ziyi Wu & ** Zhao

Authors
  1. Fanshu Ni
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  2. Ziyi Wu
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  3. ** Zhao
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Contributions

PZ and FN contributed to the study conception and design. FN performed the literature search and data analysis. FN drafted and ZW critically revised the work. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to ** Zhao.

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Ni, F., Wu, Z. & Zhao, P. Programmed intermittent epidural bolus in maintenance of epidural labor analgesia: a literature review. J Anesth 37, 945–960 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-023-03253-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-023-03253-w

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