title: Oxyhaemoglobin saturation following elective abdominal surgery in patients receiving continuous intravenous infusion or intramuscular morphine analgesia.
abstract: Oxygen saturation was continuously measured using computerised pulse oximetry for 8 h overnight pre-operatively and for the first 24 h postoperatively in 40 patients receiving intermittent intramuscular morphine or continuous infusion of morphine following elective upper abdominal surgery. The proportion of time with an oxygen saturation less than 94% was used as an index of desaturation. Patients receiving continuous infusion analgesia received a larger morphine dose and achieved better analgesia than the intramuscular group. Postoperatively, the duration of desaturation increased 10-fold over pre-operative values, 'intramuscular' patients spending 39.0% (SD, 37.0%) and 'continuous infusion' patients 40.0% (SD, 37.5%) of the time below 94% saturation. Although newer therapies (e.g. epidural analgesia and patient-controlled analgesia) are currently receiving greater attention, the sequelae of these more traditional analgesic techniques warrant further study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Kluger
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Ilsley
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Baldwin
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Fronsko
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Plummer
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Brose
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009020:Morphine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010092:Oximetry; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; D009020:Morphine