Efficacy of Intravenous Paracetamol Infusion Versus Intramuscular Tramadol as an Intrapartum Labour Analgesia

Abstract

Background: Various studies have debated intravenous paracetamol as analgesic agent However, there are no significant trials regarding comparison of paracetamol with other agents like Tramadol regarding analgesic effect on labor pain.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of intravenous paracetamol infusion versus intramuscular tramadol as an intrapartum labour analgesia.

Methodology: In this quasi experimental study, a total of 110 women with active phase of labour of term pregnancy, 18 to 40 years of age, were included. Duration and setting: May to November, 2019 at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan. In Group A, single 100 ml intravenous infusion containing 1000 mg of paracetamol while in Group B patients, tramadol hydrochloride 100 mg intramuscular, was given. All patients in both groups were evaluated by visual analogue scale and efficacy (yes/no) was noted. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis.

Results: The mean age of women in group A was 27.73 ± 5.35 years and in group B was 27.36 ± 5.61 years. The mean gestational age in group A was 39 ± 1.53 weeks and in group B was 38.95 ± 1.56 weeks. Parity was from 0 to 5 with mean parity of 2.46 ± 1.17. Efficacy (in terms of VAS score 0-3) was seen in 21 (38.18%) in group A (intravenous paracetamol infusion) and 09 (16.36%) in group B (intramuscular tramadol) with p-value of 0.010.

Conclusion: This study concluded that efficacy of intravenous paracetamol infusion is better than intramuscular tramadol as an intrapartum labour analgesia.