Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Prophylactic acetaminophen does not prevent epidural fever in nulliparous women: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Epidural analgesia is associated with a four- to five- fold increase in noninfectious maternal fever in nulliparous women. Fever prophylaxis may safely reduce both unnecessary neonatal sepsis evaluations and the potential effect of fever on the fetus. ⋯ Acetaminophen prophylaxis prevented neither maternal hyperthermia nor fever secondary to epidural analgesia, suggesting that the mechanism underlying fever does not include centrally mediated perturbations of maternal thermoregulation.