Programed Intermittent Epidural Bolus Interval 90 (EI90) of 10 ml, 0.0625% Bupivacaine Plus 2 μg/mL Fentanyl

Multiple studies showed the numerous advantages of implementing programmed epidural bolus (PIEB) technique, where a fixed volume of local anesthetic is automatically administrated at a set time interval compared to the continuous epidural infusion technique (CEI). The advantages were improved maternal satisfaction, decreased local anesthetic consumption, and decreased second stage of labor.The theory behind PIEB is that to attain a more uniform spread of local anesthetic in the epidural space a higher volume of injectate and a higher pressure is needed.Different approaches using different timings and volumes for PIEB have been proposed to achieve the optimal regimen. Many studies showed evidence that 10 mL boluses of bupivacaine 0.0625% with fentanyl 2 μg/mL delivered every 40 min, named effective programed intermittent epidural bolus interval 90 (EI90), produced effective analgesia without breakthrough pain in 90% of nulliparous women during the first stage of labor.