• S Terada, S Irikoma, A Yamashita, and T Murakoshi.
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seirei Hamamatsu General Hospital, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. Electronic address: shuheiterada@sis.seirei.or.jp.
• Int J Obstet Anesth. 2019 May 1; 38: 32-36.

BackgroundEpidural morphine is widely used for postoperative analgesia after cesarean delivery. However, respiratory depression can occur after neuraxial administration of morphine. Previous reports describing respiratory depression in obstetric patients have relied on intermittent visual counting of the respiratory rate. In this study, we estimated the incidence of respiratory depression in patients who had received epidural morphine after cesarean delivery, using a continuous respiratory rate monitoring system with a finger sensor.MethodsOne hundred patients scheduled to undergo elective cesarean delivery and receive intraoperative neuraxial morphine between April and December 2016 were recruited for this single-center, prospective observational study. Postoperatively, all patients received epidural morphine 3 mg and were equipped with the Nellcor respiratory rate monitoring system. Respiratory depression was defined as both bradypnea (respiratory rate ≤10 breaths/min) and oxygen desaturation (mild ≤95%; moderate ≤90%; severe ≤85%) for longer than one minute. The number of patients with respiratory depression between administration of morphine and first ambulation was recorded hourly.ResultsComplete monitoring was obtained for 89 of 100 women. The median duration of monitoring was 19.0 hours. Forty-six patients (52%) developed mild respiratory depression at least once before ambulation, but only one (1%) developed moderate respiratory depression. None required supplemental oxygen or naloxone.ConclusionsApproximately half the women experienced mild respiratory depression, but only one developed moderate respiratory depression. Continuous respiratory rate monitoring until ambulation may assist in early identification of respiratory depression after neuraxial administration of morphine.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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