Abstract

Twenty-one parturients undergoing elective cesarean delivery were studied in a randomized double-blind fashion. Ten received a mixture of tetracaine 1% diluted with an equal volume of dextrose 10% in water, and 11 received tetracaine 1% diluted with an equal volume of procaine 10%. Significantly higher sensory anesthesia levels occurred in the parturients who received tetracaine and procaine. The quality of sensory anesthesia was also improved in the latter group as demonstrated by the significantly lower use of intraoperative narcotic supplementation. There were no differences in the duration of motor or sensory block, the incidence of hypotension, Apgar scores, or blood gases between the groups.