Common Form of Pain Relief for Women After a C-Section is Safe for Morbidly Obese Women

Newswise — A study presented at this year’s American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Annual Meeting offers evidence that a women’s body mass index (BMI) is not a contributing factor to respiratory adverse events associated with morphine administered near the mother’s spine post-Cesarean delivery.

“Over the past decade, it has become regular practice to administer morphine near the spine (neuraxial) for optimal pain relief in post-Cesarean patients,” said the study’s lead author, Cathleen L. Peterson-Layne, M.D., Ph.D., Duke University. “However, there is a concern for a prolonged period of potential respiratory depression in the morbidly obese patient who already may be at increased risk due to sleep apnea and/or a difficult airway.”

About the StudyThe study reviewed a five year database of more than 4,500 women who delivered via C-Section who received standard doses of neuraxial, spinal or epidural, morphine at Duke University from October 2003 to November 2008. There were no cases of respiratory depression.

The BMI of the patients studied ranged from 17 (underweight) to 104 (morbidly obese). Seventy-seven percent (3,565) of the patients studied had a BMI of greater than 30, which is considered morbidly obese, while nearly 4 percent (170) of patients had a BMI of greater than 50.

“This study’s findings support the safety of neuraxial morphine for post-Cesarean pain relief,” said Dr. Peterson-Layne. “In fact, this treatment may be the preferred technique for post-Cesarean pain relief in the obese population since it allows for a decreased requirement for other narcotics associated with respiratory depression.”

Press Registration for the ASA 2009 Annual Meeting is available at http://www2.asahq.org/web/miscfiles/09media.asp.

The American Society of AnesthesiologistsAnesthesiologists: Physicians providing the lifeline of modern medicine. Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association with 43,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient.

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