Intrathecal Morphine as an Alternative for Epidural Analgesia for Postoperative Pain in a Resource Constrained Set-up: A Case Series

• Published in: Journal of clinical and diagnostic research Vol. 16; no. 10; pp. UR01 - UR02
• Main Authors: Anil Kumar Narayan, Ajay S Shandilya, Harini Krishna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 01.10.2022
• Subjects: enhanced recovery after surgery; laparotomy; opioids; postoperative analgesia; spinal morphine
• ISSN: 2249-782X; 0973-709X
• DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2022/55916.16867

Management of postoperative pain is a central piece in the jigsaw of postoperative care. This article reports a series of three patients who were managed with intrathecal morphine to provide postoperative analgesia, for major abdominal surgeries. Morphine was injected intrathecally before the induction of anaesthesia. The patients were pain free postoperatively, required minimal intravenous opioids on the first postoperative day. There was no incidence of postoperative nausea or vomiting, pruritus and respiratory depression. Intrathecal morphine improves the quality of postoperative analgesia, there is a reduction in pain scores in the first 24 hours after surgery and the need for rescue analgesia with intravenous opioids is less. Intrathecal morphine can be used as an alternative to continuous epidural analgesia in early postoperative period.