Anesth Pain Med.  2006 Jul;1(1):48-52.

The Maternal and Neonatal Effect of Remifentanil in General Anesthesia for Cesarean Section

• Lee EM
• Kim DY
• Chung RK
• Lee GY

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In case of general anesthesia for cesarean section, giving remifentanil has been described, but its maternal and neonatal effects and safety have not been investigated by a controlled study.
METHODS
20 healthy women undergoing elective cesarean section under general anesthesia at term were allocated randomly to receive remifentanil as effect site concentration of 3.0 ng/ml (R group, n = 10) and same amount of normal saline (C group, n = 10) just before endotracheal intubation. Each group was assessed for bispectral index (BIS), blood pressure, and heart rate at preinduction, arrival to target concentration, intubation, and 1 and 3 minutes after intubation and delivery. Neonatal effect was assessed by Apgar score at 1 and 5 minutes.
RESULTS
The BIS of remifentanil group was lower than that of control group at 1 min after intubation (P < 0.05). The systolic blood pressure of remifentanil group were lower than those of control group at immediately after intubation (P < 0.05) and 1 min after intubation (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in heart rate between two groups.
CONCLUSIONS
We found that infusing remifentanil just before tracheal intubation was effective and safe to both mother and neonate.

Keyword

cesarean section; general anesthesia; remifentanil

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia, General*
Apgar Score
Blood Pressure
Cesarean Section*
Female
Heart Rate
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Intubation
Intubation, Intratracheal
Mothers
Pregnancy