Effect of an increased dose of intrathecal fentanyl on cesarean delivery anesthesia at a Texas level IV maternal care center.

ABSTRACT

Background: We hypothesized that increasing our intrathecal fentanyl dose for cesarean delivery from 10 µg to 15 µg would result in fewer patients receiving a rescue analgesia intervention. Methods: Patients who had a cesarean delivery from February 15, 2021 to February 14, 2023 and received a single injection spinal or combined spinal-epidural anesthetic for cesarean delivery were eligible for inclusion. We defined a rescue analgesia intervention as administration of local anesthetic through an epidural catheter, administration of systemic anesthetic adjuvant medication, or conversion to general anesthesia. Results: A total of 520 and 556 patients received 10 µg and 15 µg of intrathecal fentanyl for cesarean delivery, respectively, of which 154 (29.6%) and 122 (21.9%) patients required rescue analgesia interventions, respectively (P = 0.004). The odds ratio for receiving a rescue analgesia intervention was 0.668 (95% confidence interval 0.507 to 0.880; P = 0.004) for patients who received 15 µg of intrathecal fentanyl compared to 10 µg. Conclusion: Following implementation of an increased dose of intrathecal fentanyl, patients who received 15 µg of intrathecal fentanyl for cesarean delivery were approximately 33% less likely to require a rescue analgesia intervention during cesarean delivery compared to patients who received 10 µg.