South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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Fifty healthy mothers, with normal placental function, were anaesthetised with ketamine (2 mg/kg body mass) for Caesarean section. Surgery was conducted with the patient in the lateral tilt position and anaesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide, oxygen, muscle relaxants and controlled ventilation. Eight of the 50 infants delivered were clinically depressed, judged on the basis of the modified Apgar score at 2 minutes after delivery. ⋯ Delirium on emergence from anesthesia was not encountered. In this study, ketamine appeared to maintain fetoplacental exchange adequately, but may have been responsible for some degree of drug-induced neonatal depression. It is suggested that ketamine should be re-evaluated, using a lower dosage schedule, for Caesarean section.