Patient-controlled pethidine after major upper abdominal surgery : comparison of the epidural and intravenous routes

We compared epidural (n = 17) and intravenous (n = 20) patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) using pethidine (bolus 10 mg, lockout interval 10 min, 4-h maximum dose 3 mg.kg(-1)) after total gastrectomy. We found that mean (SD) pethidine consumption in the first 24 h was 33% less in the epidural group [...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anaesthesia 2001-11, Vol.56 (11), p.1106-1112
Main Authors: CHEN, P. P, CHEAM, E. W, MA, M, LAM, K. K, NGAN KEE, W. D, GIN, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Analgesia, Epidural
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled - methods
Analgesics
Analgesics, Opioid - administration & dosage
Analgesics, Opioid - blood
Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Double-Blind Method
Drug Administration Schedule
Female
Gastrectomy
Humans
Infusions, Intravenous
Male
Medical sciences
Meperidine - administration & dosage
Meperidine - blood
Meperidine - therapeutic use
Middle Aged
Neuropharmacology
Pain Measurement
Pain, Postoperative - drug therapy
Patient Satisfaction
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We compared epidural (n = 17) and intravenous (n = 20) patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) using pethidine (bolus 10 mg, lockout interval 10 min, 4-h maximum dose 3 mg.kg(-1)) after total gastrectomy. We found that mean (SD) pethidine consumption in the first 24 h was 33% less in the epidural group [255 (85) mg] than in the intravenous group [379 (129) mg, p = 0.002], although most of this difference occurred in the first 8 h. Plasma concentrations of pethidine were lower at 8 h (p < 0.01) in the epidural group, but were similar at 24 h. Pain scores, side-effects, patient satisfaction and patient outcome were similar between groups. Epidural and intravenous pethidine PCA provided similar efficacy after major abdominal surgery, although the epidural route can reduce the amount of pethidine used initially.
ISSN:0003-2409
1365-2044