Intrathecal Versus Epidural Morphine for Post-Cesarean Analgesia

Cesarean section is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide, making effective management of acute postoperative pain a key issue in obstetric anesthesiology. Post-cesarean analgesia should promote rapid maternal recovery, support newborn care, and consider the pharmacological implications for breastfeeding. According to recent PROSPECT® guidelines from ESRA, neuraxial opioids play a central role in post-cesarean analgesia and are at least as effective as other techniques, such as continuous local anesthetic infusion. However, the optimal route of opioid administration remains unclear. While earlier studies favored epidural morphine, more recent evidence suggests that intrathecal morphine may provide superior analgesia. Due to limited and conflicting data, no definitive conclusion can be drawn. Given that epidural morphine remains standard practice at Hospital Central do Funchal, a randomized clinical trial is proposed to compare the analgesic efficacy of intrathecal versus epidural morphine after elective cesarean section.

NCT Number	NCT07386353
Lead Sponsor	Hospital Central do Funchal
Conditions	Analgesia Obstetrical, Analgesia, Post Operative Pain, Patient Satisfaction, Cesarean Section Pain
Enrollment	120 participants
Start Date	2024-05-20
Primary Completion	2026-07-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-07-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-02-04