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Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 33, 231-233, Copyright © 1986 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

The Sleep Apnoea Syndrome and Epidural Morphine

Y. LAMARCHE MD FRCPC1, R. MARTIN MD FRCPC1, J. REINER MD FRCPC1, and G. BLAISE MD FRCPC1

1 Departments of Anaesthesia and Medicine (Neurology) Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Fleurimont, Quebec

Address correspondence to: Dr. Y. Lamarche, Department of Anaesthesia, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Fleurimont, Quebec, J1H 5N4.

A patient not known in advance to have the sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS) was administered a combined epidural-general anaesthetic for a proposed radical prostatectomy. After surgery which had to be discontinued due to extensive tumoural spread, morphine 5 mg was administered through the epidural catheter for analgesia. Severe respiratory depression occurred eight hours later and was successfully reversed by repeated injections of naloxone. The potential danger of epidural morphine administration to SAS patients is discussed.

Key Words: COMPLICATIONS: sleep apnoea syndrome • ANAESTHETIC TECHNIQUES: epidural • ANALGESICS: morphine






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Copyright © 1986 by the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.