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Respiratory depression following postoperative analgesia with epidural morphine
Author(s) -
Madsen J. Vestergaard,
Rybro L.,
Schurizek B. A.,
Husegaard H. C.,
Joensen F.,
Møller L. V.,
Wernberg M.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.1986.tb02444.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anesthesia , morphine , analgesic , respiratory system , depression (economics) , respiratory rate , postoperative pain , surgery , heart rate , blood pressure , economics , macroeconomics
Eighteen healthy patients subjected to operation for duodenal ulcer were allocated randomly to one of two regimes of analgesic treatment with epidural morphine. The analgesic regime was started either per‐ or postoperatively. Epidural morphine in doses of 4 mg was given until satisfactory pain relief was achieved. Paco 2 and respiratory rate were measured hourly for 10 h and a nearly identical respiratory depression was found in the two groups. Peak Paco 2 ‐ ‐ values were seen in the 5th and 6th postoperative hour. The respiratory rate was initially high and declined during the first postoperative hours. Only one patient in each group had a pathologically low respiratory rate (8 min ‐1 ), but this was transient and seen in thc 10th postoperative hour. The needs for epidural morphine on the first postoperative day were highest in the peroperative group. It is concluded that a peroperative start of pain treatment with epidural morphine does not affect the degree of respiratory depression or reduce the postoperative analgesic requirements.