Epidural pain management in the postrhizotomy patient

The authors report a randomized double-blind prospective study comparing epidural morphine 80 micrograms/kg to epidural morphine 80 micrograms/kg plus butorphanol 40 micrograms/kg in children undergoing rhizotomy. Up to 50% of children receiving epidural morphine alone will experience side effects of nausea, vomiting, pruritus, urinary retention or respiratory depression. The addition of the narcotic agonist-antagonist butorphanol virtually eliminated these side effects without compromising analgesia or causing undue sedation. Parent satisfaction was greater than 90%.