Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Mar 1984
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialMaternal and neonatal effects of epidural morphine for labor and delivery.
To determine the efficacy of epidural morphine during labor and delivery, 40 healthy parturients who requested epidural analgesia were randomly given either a single injection of morphine sulfate (2 mg, n = 9; 5 mg, n = 10; or 7.5 mg, n = 11) or 0.5% bupivacaine (n = 10). Bupivacaine provided excellent analgesia in all patients. Morphine (2 or 5 mg) did not produce adequate analgesia and needed to be supplemented by local anesthesia. ⋯ Epidural morphine did not produce neonatal depression, as evidenced by Apgar scores and neurologic and adaptive capacity scores. We conclude that 7.5 mg of epidural morphine can give satisfactory pain relief during labor but not delivery, and that 2 or 5 mg of morphine is ineffective. Although 0.5% bupivacaine provided better anesthesia, epidural morphine might prove useful for selected patients.