Severe respiratory depression in the obstetric patient after intrathecal meperidine or sufentanil.
Two cases of severe respiratory depression in the obstetric population are presented. The first occurred after intrathecal injection of a modest dose (50 mg) of meperidine. The second followed intrathecal administration of 10 microg of sufentanil after intravenous fentanyl. These cases illustrate the potential gravity of this complication and highlight the need for caution when giving intrathecal opioid following parenteral opioid administration.
Department of Anesthesiology, Rush Medical College at Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612-3864, USA.
J B
JB
Jaffee
G E
GE
Drease
T
T
Kelly
L M
LM
Newman