Ineffective transcutaneous nerve stimulation following epidural anaesthesia.

Thirty-five patients were delivered by electric Caesarean section under general or epidural anaesthesia. For postoperative analgesia they received narcotic analgesics as required and either transcutaneous nerve stimulation or an inactive stimulator. The patients receiving an active stimulator following general anaesthesia had significantly less pain and required significantly less postoperative analgesia than their control group. The epidural patients did not receive any additional benefit from active stimulation, but had the same amount of pain and the same analgesic requirement as patients receiving active stimulation following general anaesthesia. The possible causes for the failure of transcutaneous nerve stimulation after epidural anaesthesia and their implications are discussed.