Addition of bupivacaine 1.25 mg to fentanyl confers no advantage over fentanyl alone for intrathecal analgesia in early labour.

Purpose: a) To evaluate the effect of adding 1.25 mg of bupivacaine to intrathecal fentanyl on the duration of analgesia in an Asian population and b) to examine if the baricity of the local anesthetic at this dose has any bearing on the duration and quality of block.

Methods: Forty-eight parturients in early labour received combined spinal epidural (CSE) analgesia to evaluate a) the effect of adding 1.