UI - 000054

AU - Bach V

AU - Carl P

AU - Ravlo O

AU - Crawford ME

AU - Werner M

TI - Potentiation of epidural opioids with epidural droperidol. A one year retrospective study

AB - During a period of one year, 119 patients with chronic pain received injections of opioids via a

catheter inserted in the lumbar epidural space. Twenty-three patients (19%) showed evidence of tolerance

and were given droperidol 1.25-5.0 mg epidurally. In 20 patients in this study, there was a significant

reduction in the number of epidural opioid injections. Six patients complained of excessive sedation, which

disappeared when the dose of droperidol was reduced, although this did not affect the analgesia. One patient

given an accidental overdose of droperidol developed reversible Parkinsonism. It is concluded that epidural

administration of the dopamine antagonist droperidol may be beneficial as supplementary medication to

epidural opioids when tolerance develops

SO - Anaesthesia 1986;41:1116-1119