Single dose epidural morphine instead of patient-controlled epidural analgesia in the second day of cesarean section; an easy method for the pain relief of a new mother

Purpose: Pain management has a particular importance after Cesarean section. This study was undertaken in order to document the efficacy and side-effects of epidural morphine instead of patient-controlled analgesia technique used for the control of post-cesarean pain during postoperative 24-48 hours. Materials and Methods: This study was performed as a retrospective review of patient charts who had received combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia. Post-cesarean analgesia was performed with epidural technique either by using (Group 1) patient-controlled epidural analgesia for 48 hours, or (Group 2) patient-controlled epidural analgesia for the first 24 hours and then single dose of 3 mg epidural morphine for the second 24 hours. Results: Incidences of side-effects were similar in both groups. None of the patients experienced respiratory depression. Additional analgesia was used on an as-required basis in nine of 39 (23%) patients in Group 1 and six of 39 (13%) in Group 2. Conclusion: Small doses of epidural morphine provides up to 24 hours of pain relief from a single injection and could obviate the need for an indwelling epidural catheter on the second day of post-cesarean section, thus reducing the potential for catheter-related complications.