Background: Intrathecal morphine provides effective analgesia after cesarean birth, yet up to 90% of women who receive it experience excessive itching, an undesirable dose-dependent effect. Pruritis may increase nursing workload, delay breastfeeding, and decrease patient satisfaction. When 0.1 mg spinal morphine is given, pruritis is markedly reduced while analgesia is preserved.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to determine possible causes and solutions for pruritus after cesarean birth.
Methods: Anesthesia providers were educated and encouraged to limit spinal morphine to 0.1 mg as a strategy to prevent pruritus. In a repeated measures design, the rate of treatment-required pruritus and opioid consumption were measured 24 hours after surgery. The project included an evaluation of 30 medical records before and 30 medical records after the project intervention.
Results: Preintervention rate of treatment-required pruritis was 37%, all received spinal morphine ≥ 1.5 mg. Postintervention rate of treatment-required pruritis was 13% and 57% after spinal morphine 0.1 mg and 0.2 mg, respectively. Opioid consumption was similar between groups.
Clinical implications: Mother-baby nurses can have an impact on the practice of anesthesia providers by advocating for evidence-based dosing of intrathecal morphine to reduce the incidence of pruritis while maintaining effective analgesia for women after cesarean birth.
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