Combined treatment with ranitidine and saline antacids prior to obstetric anaesthesia

Ranitidine 150 mg was given to 126 patients requiring elective Caesarean section under general anaesthesia: 43 women had ranitidine alone, 43 had this supplemented by a pre-induction dose of sodium citrate and 40 patients had ranitidine plus sodium bicarbonate. All three sub-groups provided satisfactory gastric pH and volume. Ranitidine 150 mg was given orally every 6 hours to women in labour. Of 221 patients requiring general anaesthesia during labour, 103 women received 30 ml 0.3 M sodium citrate and 118 women, 20 ml of 8.4% sodium bicarbonate 10 minutes before induction of anaesthesia. In the citrate sub-group there was one patient with a gastric pH less than 2.5 (mean pH 6.2, SEM 0.13 range 2.1-8.4). In the bicarbonate sub-group the lowest gastric acidity was 3.8 (mean pH 8.3, SEM 0.11 range 3.8-9.83).