The impact of a transversus abdominis plane block including clonidine vs. intrathecal morphine on nausea and vomiting after caesarean section: A randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Intrathecal morphine (ITM) is a widely used technique for postcaesarean section analgesia but entails a high risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is an alternative. OBJECTIVE We tested the hypothesis that a TAP block including clonidine reduces the incidence of PONV after caesarean section when compared with ITM. DESIGN A randomised, controlled, double-blinded study. SETTING Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland, from October 2013 to February 2017. PATIENTS A total of 182 patients undergoing elective caesarean section were studied. Reasons for noninclusion were complicated pregnancy, contraindication to spinal anaesthesia or TAP block, extreme weight or height, allergy to any medication or previous median abdominal incision. INTERVENTIONS Patients were allocated randomly to one of two groups (quadruple blinded): 100 μg of morphine added to the spinal local anaesthetic or a bilateral TAP block with 20 ml of ropivacaine 0.375% + 75 μg of clonidine on each side. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measure was the total number of patients presenting with PONV at 24 h. Secondary aims were to compare other adverse effects (pruritus, respiratory depression, hypotension, bradycardia, sedation), analgesic efficacy and the quality of postoperative recovery. RESULTS At 24 h, there was no significant difference between ITM and TAP groups in the total number of patients pres...
Source: European Journal of Anaesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Postoperative nausea and vomiting Source Type: research