Dexamethasone for Post-operative Pain After Cesarean Delivery Under Neuraxial Anesthesia.

Summary

After surgery pain in women who have had a cesarean delivery is a determining factor in the quality and duration of their hospital stay. Insufficient pain relief can lead to longer hospitalization and long term pain, which can result in long term use of pain medication. A classic method to alleviate pain after cesarean delivery is by injecting morphine into the spinal fluid, in the women's back, in addition to prescribing morphine by mouth as needed after the surgery. However, the negative effects associated with morphine and morphine-like drugs, limit the doses used, their pain relief capacity, and can negatively affect the after surgical experience of women. An approach which uses pain relief that acts on different pain pathways to treat after surgery pain helps limit the negative effects of different drugs. The potential benefit of dexamethasone as pain relief in women who have had a cesarean delivery is all the more interesting because of its minimal negative effects compared to morphine-like drugs. Its low cost, its effectiveness to prevent nausea, and its impact on the general condition of patients make dexamethasone even more attractive.

Timeline

Start

2018-09-13

Primary completion

2021-06-08

Completion

2025-10-01

Publications

• Background Mohtadi A, Nesioonpour S, Salari A, Akhondzadeh R, Masood Rad B, Aslani SM. The effect of single-dose administration of dexamethasone on postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Anesth Pain Med. 2014 Aug 13;4(3):e17872. doi: 10.5812/aapm.17872. eCollection 2014 Aug.
• Background Shahraki AD, Feizi A, Jabalameli M, Nouri S. The effect of intravenous Dexamethasone on post-cesarean section pain and vital signs: A double-blind randomized clinical trial. J Res Pharm Pract. 2013 Jul;2(3):99-104. doi: 10.4103/2279-042X.122370.
• Background Cardoso MM, Leite AO, Santos EA, Gozzani JL, Mathias LA. Effect of dexamethasone on prevention of postoperative nausea, vomiting and pain after caesarean section: a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2013 Mar;30(3):102-5. doi: 10.1097/EJA.0b013e328356676b.

Drugs

Indications