Why the study?
Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests previously unrecognized adverse maternal and fetal effects of nitrous oxide, warranting reconsideration of its use in pregnant women for labor analgesia.
Should nitrous oxide be employed for labor analgesia given emerging evidence of adverse maternal and fetal effects?
Should nitrous oxide be employed for labor analgesia given emerging evidence of adverse maternal and fetal effects?
Emerging evidence of adverse maternal and fetal effects of nitrous oxide warrants a reconsideration of its use for labor analgesia and more detailed informed consent.
May warrant caution with nitrous oxide in labor; leaves open need for randomized confirmation of risks.
This Pro-Con debate will provide the practitioner with an evidence-based knowledge approach to assist the clinician in determining whether to employ (Pro) or not to employ (Con) this technique in the obstetrical suite for labor analgesia. Nitrous oxide has been used safely in dentistry and medicine for many centuries. However, accumulating preclinical and clinical evidence increasingly suggests previously unrecognized adverse maternal and fetal effects of nitrous oxide, which warrants reconsideration of its use in pregnant women and a more detailed informed consent. Nitrous oxide is associated with metabolic, oxidative, genotoxic, and transgenerational epigenetic effects in animals and humans that may warrant limiting its usefulness in labor. This debate will discuss and review the clinical uses, advantages, and disadvantages of nitrous oxide on occupational effects of nitrous oxide exposure, neuroapoptosis, FDA warning on inhalational anesthetics and the developing brain, research limitations, occupational exposure safety limits, effects on global warming, and potential for diversion.
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Vallejo et al. (2019) studied this question.
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