Low-Dose Ketamine Infusion for Post-Cesarean Delivery Analgesia in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder

The prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnant women has increased dramatically during the past two decades.1 Medication-assisted treatment using buprenorphine or methadone attenuates relapse risk while also reducing the incidence of obstetric complications.1 Retrospective studies of parturients maintained on methadone and buprenorphine, however, document the difficulty of achieving adequate postoperative analgesia following cesarean delivery.2,3 It is essential to optimize post-cesarean delivery analgesia in patients with OUD because severe postpartum pain can interfere with maternal-newborn bonding and breastfeeding, is associated with postpartum depression, and can increase the risk of illicit substance misuse.
Source: International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research