Twenty-three patients undergoing surgery below T.6 dermatome were anaesthetized with epidural morphine 20 mg in 15 ml of saline, thiopentone drip 0·04–0·1 mg/kg/min. and pancuronium 0·1 mg/kg. The patients had satisfactory analgesia intra-operatively. Post-operative analgesia lasted for varying periods ranging from 13 hours to 24 hours and above. The cardiovascular system was stable. Post-epidural morphine complications of respiratory depression (three patients), urinary retention (one patient) and pruritus (one patient) were seen and they were managed successfully.
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