We compared, in a double-blind randomised study, intramuscular ketorolac 30 mg (n=49) and intramuscular pethidine 75 mg (n =51) for analgesia after elective caesarean section under general anaesthesia. Anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone and suxamethonium and maintained with atracurium, nitrous oxide and isojlurane. Intravenous fentanyl 100 p.g was given after delivery of the neonate. In the recovery ward, patients who requested analgesia were allocated randomly to receive ketorolac 30 mg or pethidine 75 mg intramuscularly. Analgesia was assessed at intervals up to six hours, using a visual analogue scale and a four-point verbal scale, while duration of analgesia was taken as the time until the patient requested additional analgesia. There was no difference in the duration of analgesia between groups (Mann-Whitney test P=0.27, Mantel-Haentszel test P= 0.17). Twenty-six patients in the ketorolac group and 17 patients in the pethidine group requested further analgesia by 90 minutes. However, four patients in the ketorolac group and six patients in the pethidine group requested no further analgesia within 24 hours. Pain VAS and overall assessment of analgesia was similar between groups, although more side-effects (nausea, dizziness) were noted in the pethidine group. Ketorolac 30 mg and pethidine 75 mg provided similar but variable quality of analgesia after caesarean section.

Pain relief is an important component of modern obstetric care and can be produced by neuraxial, systemic, or inhalational analgesia or various physical techniques. We review the most recent evidence on the efficacy and safety of these techniques. Over the past decade, the availability of safer local anaesthetics, ultra-short acting opioids, combined spinal-epidural needles, patient-controlled analgesic devices, and ultrasound have revolutionised obstetric regional analgesia. Recent meta-analyses have supported epidural analgesia as the most efficacious technique, as it leads to higher maternal satisfaction and good maternal and fetal safety profiles. We examine the controversies and myths concerning the initiation, maintenance, and discontinuation of epidural