Effects of intrathecal and intravenous dexamethasone on complications associated with intrathecal morphine after cesarean section: A comparative study

BACKGROUND: Pain and nausea and vomiting are of serious complications following the use of opiates after surgery, especially cesarean section. Control of postoperative complications is one of the necessities of quality promotion of health-care system. Medications with few side effects such as corticosteroids including dexamethasone can be an appropriate option. In addition, the route of administration can have a significant effect on the effectiveness of the drug. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of intrathecal with intravenous dexamethasone in reducing the complications associated with intrathecal morphine after cesarean section. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial and determined the effect of intrathecal and intravenous dexamethasone on the incidence and severity of complications of intrathecal morphine after cesarean section on 120 patients and its relationship with serious complications after surgery. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to examine the characteristics of the case and control groups, and STATA SPSS software was used to compare the two groups. RESULTS: There was no significant association between the two groups in terms of baseline characteristics. Pain score in the intrathecal injection group was lower than the intravenous injection group, with a statistically significant difference (P = 0.02). In addition, there was a significant association regarding to the incidence of nausea, vomiting, and itching between intrathecal and intravenous injection groups (P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Dexamethasone was effective to reduce opiate complications after cesarean section. Establishing a suitable association between dexamethasone half-life, efficacy, type of use, and time of use can result the best outcomes and promote patients' satisfaction in cesarean section.