Fentanyl only epidural

[LPertgenRN]

Does anyone use fentanyl only epidurals at their hospitals and if so how are the outcomes for pain? Does it seem to have adequate pain control for laboring mothers?

[offlabel]

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[offlabel]

Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to go to the trouble of putting in an epidural catheter just to put fentanyl through it. Probably get the exact bang for your buck with an IV fentanyl PCA, mcg for mcg. And, no, most laboring women have higher expectations for analgesia from a labor epidural that just fentanyl can provide.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to go to the trouble of putting in an epidural catheter just to put fentanyl through it. Probably get the exact bang for your buck with an IV fentanyl PCA, mcg for mcg. And, no, most laboring women have higher expectations for analgesia from a labor epidural that just fentanyl can provide.

When it's first placed, it's usually bolused with lidocaine or ropivicaine. The Fentanyl is typically the PCA med.

And it's different than IV fentanyl in that less of it is in general circulation, thus there is less sedation

OP - I will check when I'm at work, but I think that yes, our CLE PCA is fentanyl (sorry, don't do bedside nursing and am newer to the facility, so don't know off the top of my head)

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