• H King and P Barclay.
• Department of Anaesthesia, Liverpool Women's Hospital, Crown Street, Liverpool, L8 7SS, UK. hannahking@henry.pau.clara.co.uk
• Anaesthesia. 2004 Jun 1;59(6):565-9.

AbstractThis study investigated whether intrathecal diamorphine affects gastric emptying following elective Caesarean section. Forty women were randomly allocated to receive either diamorphine 300 microg or 0.9% saline as part of a standard spinal anaesthetic. Gastric emptying was measured in the immediate postoperative period using paracetamol absorption. Paracetamol concentrations were measured by enzymatic assay method using a Beckman CX-7 automated analyser. The time to maximum concentration (Tmax) was statistically longer in the diamorphine group (control 41.8, SD 20.8 min; diamorphine 72.6 SD 41.9 min; p < 0.01). During the 2-h study period, mean morphine consumption via a patient controlled analgesia device was significantly higher in the control group (control 9.3, SD 3.6 mg; diamorphine 2.1, SD 2.1 mg; p < 0.01). We conclude that intrathecal diamorphine may contribute to the delay in gastric emptying that occurs immediately following elective spinal Caesarean section.

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