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Oxyhaemoglobin saturation following elective abdominal surgery in patients receiving continuous intravenous infusion or intramuscular morphine analgesia
Author(s) -
Kluger M. T.,
Owen H.,
Watson D.,
Ilsley A. H.,
Baldwin A. M.,
Fronsko R. R. L.,
Plummer J. L.,
Brose W. G.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1992.tb02131.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anesthesia , morphine , pulse oximetry , continuous infusion , analgesic , abdominal surgery , patient controlled analgesia , oxygen saturation , elective surgery , surgery , oxygen , chemistry , organic chemistry
Summary Oxygen saturation was continuously measured using computerised pulse oximetry for 8 h overnight pre‐operatively and for the first 24 h postoperatively in 40 patients receiving intermittent intramuscular morphine or continuous infusion of morphine following elective upper abdominal surgery. The proportion of time with an oxygen saturation less than 94% was used as an index of de'saturation. Patients receiving continuous infusion analgesia received a larger morphine dose and achieved better analgesia than the intramuscular group. Postoperatively, the duration of desaturation increased 10‐fold over pre‐operative values, ‘intramuscular’ patients spending 39.0% (SD, 37.0%) and ‘continuous infusion’ patients 40.0% (SD, 37.5%) of the time below 94% saturation. Although newer therapies (e.g. epidural analgesia and patient‐controlled analgesia) are currently receiving greater attention, the sequelae of these more traditional analgesic techniques warrant further study.