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Article
Effect of Continuous Local Anesthetic use for Pain Control and Narcotic use after Cesarean Section: A Randomized Trial
Open Journal of Surgery
  • Jerome L. Yaklic, Wright State University
  • Rose Maxwell, Wright State University
  • Keira Urschel, Wright State University
  • S. Robinson, Wright State University
  • M. K. Dearmond
  • Steven R. Lindheim, Wright State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2017
Abstract

Background: Post-operative pain control after Cesarean delivery is a major concern for both patients and physicians. The current literature provides mixed results on the effectiveness of the local continuous infiltration of anesthesia for pain control and reduction of morphine use. Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial with a 1:1 group allocation. Fifty women who had a Cesarean delivery were randomly assigned to receive bupivacaine (Bupivacaine group) or saline (Saline group) delivered via locally placed catheters at the sub-fascial plane and at the uterine incision. Forty women (20 per group) completed the study. Total post-operative narcotic use and analog pain scale scores were used to evaluate effi cacy of treatment at 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after surgery. Results: There was a reduction in pain and narcotic use in the Bupivacaine group at 6, 12, and 48 hours (p< 0.09). Regardless of group assignment, women who had a prior Cesarean section, versus primagravida women, had a higher total narcotic use (58.06 mg vs.38.28 mg, respectively;p< 0.03). Conclusions: Dual catheter placement and infusion of bupivacaine has potential to decrease the use of narcotics and decrease pain following cesarean section, however, given the small sample size in this study, a significant difference between groups could not be delineated. Further study is indicated to investigate catheter placement and its effects on pain control and narcotic use.

Comments
Copyright: © 2017 Yaklic JL, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Information
Jerome L. Yaklic, Rose Maxwell, Keira Urschel, S. Robinson, et al.. "Effect of Continuous Local Anesthetic use for Pain Control and Narcotic use after Cesarean Section: A Randomized Trial" Open Journal of Surgery Vol. 1 Iss. 1 (2017) p. 026 - 030
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jerome-yaklic/16/