Analgesic requirements and postoperative recovery after scheduled compared to unplanned cesarean delivery: a retrospective chart review

BackgroundStudies examining the effects of various analgesics and anesthetics on postoperative pain following cesarean delivery conventionally use the scheduled cesarean population. This study compares postoperative analgesic requirements and recovery profiles in women undergoing scheduled cesarean compared to unplanned cesarean delivery following labor. We postulated that unplanned cesarean deliveries may increase postoperative analgesic requirements.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective chart review of 200 cesarean deliveries at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, California. We examined the records of 100 patients who underwent scheduled cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia (hyperbaric bupivacaine 12 mg with intrathecal fentanyl 10 μg and morphine 200 μg) and 100 patients that following a trail of labor required unplanned cesarean under epidural anesthesia (10–25 mL 2% lidocaine top-up with epidural morphine 4 mg after clamping of the umbilical cord). We recorded pain scores, analgesic consumption, time to first analgesic request, side effects, and length of hospital stay.ResultsWe found no differences in postoperative pain scores and analgesic consumption between scheduled and unplanned cesarean deliveries for up to five days postoperatively. There were no differences in treatment of side effects such as nausea, vomiting, or pruritus (P > 0.05).ConclusionThe results indicate that women experience similar pain and analgesic requirements after scheduled compared to unplanned cesarean delivery. This suggests that the non-scheduled cesarean population may be a suitable pain model to study pain management strategies; and that alterations in pain management are not necessary for the unplanned cesarean delivery population.