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A comparison of postoperative analgesia following spinal or epidural anaesthesia for Caesarean section
Author(s) -
Lam F. Y.,
Broome I. J.,
Matthews P. J.
Publication year - 1994
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.1365-2044.1994.tb03317.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anesthesia , morphine , caesarean section , regional anaesthesia , spinal anesthesia , surgery , pregnancy , biology , genetics
Summary Postoperative analgesia, using a patient‐controlled analgesia system, was studied in 32 women after elective Caesarean section performed under either spinal or epidural anaesthesia. Patients who had spinal anaesthesia had significantly higher pain scores and morphine consumption during the first 4 h postoperatively than patients who had epidural anaesthesia. This situation was reversed between 4 to 8 h postoperatively with patients who had had epidurals having significantly higher pain scores despite higher morphine consumption. After 8 h there was little difference in pain scores or morphine use between the two groups. Total morphine consumption in the first 24 h postoperatively was not significantly different between the two groups.