CJA
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a scholarly reply
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Palacios, Q. T.
Right arrow Articles by Joyce, T. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Palacios, Q. T.
Right arrow Articles by Joyce, T. H., 3rd

Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 38, 24-30, Copyright © 1991 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

ARTICLES

Post-caesarean section analgesia: a comparison of epidural butorphanol and morphine

QT Palacios, MM Jones, JL Hawkins, JN Adenwala, S Longmire, KR Hess, BS Skjonsby, DH Morrow and TH Joyce 3rd
Department of Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030.

Epidural butorphanol 1, 2 and 4 mg were compared with morphine, 5 mg, for postoperative analgesia in 92 consenting, healthy, term parturients who had undergone Caesarean section under epidural lidocaine anaesthesia in a randomized double-blind study. Postoperative pain was assessed using a visual analogue scale and recorded with heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. The demographic characteristics, and the incidences of primary and repeat Caesarean sections, were not different among the four treatment groups. At 15, 30, 45 and 60 min after treatment the median pain scores following butorphanol were similar and lower than those following morphine (P less than 0.05). Calculated median percentage pain relief values for butorphanol were higher than morphine at each of these times (P less than 0.05). At 90 min and 2 hr the pain scores and pain relief values were similar. Beyond 45 min the number of patients requesting supplemental medication and dropping out of the study increased progressively in both the butorphanol and morphine treated patients. The attrition profiles for butorphanol were different from morphine (P less than 0.01). The median time in the study was greater than 24 hr for morphine, and 3, 2.5 and 4 hr for butorphanol, 1, 2 or 4 mg, respectively. No patient developed a clinically important change in heart rate or blood pressure, and none experienced a decrease in respiratory rate below 12 breaths.min-1. One of 69 patients (1.4 per cent) who received butorphanol developed pruritus compared with ten (43 per cent) of 23 patients who received morphine. The global assessments of the adequacy of analgesia were indistinguishable between morphine and butorphanol. Epidural butorphanol provides safe, effective postoperative analgesia, has a prompt onset, and a limited duration.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Ann. Thorac. Surg.Home page
D. B. Gould
Epidural Butorphanol Betters Fentanyl, Morphine Options
Ann. Thorac. Surg., April 1, 1995; 59(4): 1039 - 1040.
[Full Text]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1991 by the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.