Inhaled Nitrous Oxide and Labor Analgesia

Inhalational anesthetic agents have been used since the mid 1800s to help alleviate pain associated with labor. James Simpson and John Snow initially utilized ether and chloroform respectively in 1847 and 1853. Stanislav Klikovich followed in his predecessors footsteps and successfully administered nitrous oxide for labor analgesia in 1881. Although many inhalational agents have been considered for labor analgesia since that time, the administration of nitrous oxide has been refined over the last century and remains a common practice for obstetrical anesthesia today. Since that time, nitrous oxide has been found to be an effective labor analgesia for many women, although providing less pain relief compared then a labor epidural, it has been found to be safe for the mother, baby, and health care providers.

Nitrous oxide is currently used by 60% of laboring women in the United Kingdom, 50% of women who deliver in Australia and nearly 50% of all parturients in Canada and Finland. This compares to a recent article which reported that only two United States hospitals routinely offer nitrous oxide for labor analgesia as the majority of laboring women request an epidural. The epidural rate in the Unites States averages nearly 90% compared to only 14-38% in other parts of the world.

Nitrous oxide is an easy to administer non-flammable, odorless inhalational agent that produces both analgesia and anxiolysis. It is believed the mechanism of action of nitrous oxide is through the release of endogenous opioid peptides into the periaqueductal gray area of the midbrain which stimulates descending noradrenergic pathways resulting in analgesia. These pathways modulate pain in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord through alpha-2 adrenoreceptors. Anxiolytic effects are thought to be caused by inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. In a Swedish study involving 1,997 parturients utilizing inhaled nitrous oxide as the sole anesthetic for labor analgesia, 37.6% of participants reported effective pain relief.

Currently, the rate of labor epidural analgesia at Magee Womens Hospital is approximately 90%. There are many advantages to the use of nitrous oxide for labor analgesia compared to an epidural. Complications associated with labor epidural analgesia can include infection, bleeding, headache, and wet-tap. These complications can result in a prolonged hospital stay that is not associated with the use of nitrous oxide for labor analgesia.

One of the biggest advantages of the use of nitrous oxide for labor analgesia is the significantly lower cost to administer compared to an epidural. In a recent article in the Birth journal, it was noted that the use of nitrous oxide is far less expensive and much simpler than epidural analgesia and does not result in complications requiring additional treatments and prolonged hospital stays. The use of nitrous could have major financial benefits for both Medicaid and private insurance companies. In 2004, the largest cost for these insurance entities was the cost to care for pregnant and laboring women which was reported to cost $41 billion. The most significant cost savings would be the reduction in anesthesia services. Currently average cost per patient for anesthesia staff coverage is 728 dollars. Average re-imbursement for a labor epidural placement is 385 dollars. Nitrous oxide does not require anesthesia staff to implement, saving health care dollars. After the initial investment of the nitrous oxide machine, the only additional cost would be the tubing and mask for the patient and the nitrous oxide and oxygen E-cylinders for delivery.

With Nitrous oxide having many qualities that make it an attractive choice for labor analgesia, many anesthesia providers are questioning its limited use in the United States. It is speculated that it may be cultural issue and that women make decisions regarding labor analgesia based on learned experiences of family and friends, many of whom have not heard of or used nitrous oxide to cope with labor pains. Another reason may be that some authors argue that nitrous oxide is an orphan drug with no pizzazz for professional groups or companies to profit from its use as it causes environmental and occupational hazards which limit its use. No definitive opinion exists to answer this question. Finally, some authors suggest its use is limited due to the disadvantages of nitrous oxide, which include the possibility to cause mood alterations, euphoria, impaired mentation, dysphoria, inappropriate behaviors and nausea and vomiting. These side effects are limited through a number of fail-safe mechanisms built into the nitrous oxide machine which includes the delivery of at least 30% oxygen and 3 liters of fresh gas flow. In addition the proper use includes self administration under direct supervision of a trained provider while the nitrous oxide is in use.