Post-cesarean analgesia using a subcutaneous pethidine infusion.

A pethidine infusion administered subcutaneously using a syringe pump was evaluated in 118 women following cesarean section. One hundred three women (87%) were satisfied with their postoperative analgesia. The mean length of infusion was 18.8 h, and the mean total dose of pethidine was 402 mg. Twenty-seven patients (23%) reported no severe pain postoperatively, the remainder had on average 2.6 h of pain which they described as severe. Of 38 women who had had a previous cesarean section, 19 (50%) considered the pump to be an improvement on the analgesia given the previous time. There were no cases of respiratory depression. This mode of analgesia has advantages over conventional intramuscular bolus injections. It was judged acceptable to both patients and ward staff.