Samina Ismail
Aga Khan University, Pakistan
Title: Postoperative analgesia for caesarean section patients
Biography
Biography: Samina Ismail
Abstract
Caesarean section (CS) commonly induces moderate to severe pain for 48 hrs. The aims of postoperative pain treatment are to provide subjective comfort, inhibit nociceptive impulses and blunt the neuro-endocrine response to pain thus enhancing the restoration of function. Opioids are used both by systemic and neuraxial route for postoperative analgesia. Patient controlled intravenous analgesia (IV-PCA) has shown to be superior to conventional IM opioids for women having had a caesarean Pain, pruritus, nausea/vomiting, sedation and respiratory depression are concerning issues that complicate postoperative opioid usage. These limitations have led to the introduction of multimodal analgesia in the form of co-analgesic/ adjuvant drugs and nerve block and wound infilteration. The NICE guidelines for cesarean sections suggest that wound infiltration and/or ilioinguinal nerve block are viable alternatives to systemic analgesia. TAP block can be a better option for patients not receiving long acting neuraxial opioids. Women having CS presents a unique set of problems to the anesthetist and requires optimal pain management. We need to explore the possibility to establish standard pain relief methods, the choice should be determined by drug availability, resource limitations and financial consideration.