USE OF KETAMINE CAN INCREASE THE EFFECTS OF EPIDURAL MORPHINE POSTOPERATIVE ANALGESIA

Objective: To observe whether ketamine can increase the effects of epidural morphine postoperative analgesia. Method: 30 cases of patients with cholecystectomy were given epidural anesthesia: after i.v. dropping of pethidine 50 mg and aloperidin 5 mg, the patients were randomly divided into two groups: group I (n=15), being given i.v. dropping of ketamine 0.4mg·kg -1 prior to the operatine and group II (n=15) with normal saline instead of ketamine. After the operation morphine 1mg was injected into epidural space for postoperative analgesia. Results: Pain free duration and continous analgesic duration were extended markedly in group I, visual analogoue scale and verbal rating scale were significantly dereased (P0.01), while the side effects were not change markedly. Conclusion: Ketamine can increase the effects of epidural morphine postoperative analgesia.