Effects of a continuous low-dose clonidine epidural regimen on pain, satisfaction and adverse events during labour: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background And Objective: Epidural clonidine has been proposed as an adjunct for anaesthetic mixtures during labour. Administered as a bolus, clonidine may have side effects such as sedation and hypotension; its continuous infusion could be attractive in this respect. We, therefore, conducted a randomized, double-blind trial using patient-controlled epidural analgesia with a background infusion using a low dose of clonidine during labour.