PERIOPERATIVE LOW-DOSE KETAMINE DIMINISHES POST-OPERATIVE CAESAREAN PAIN, NAUSEA & VOMITING AFTER SPINAL ANAESTHESIA

Objective: despite various developments in the treatment of post-operative caesarean pain, there are still difficulties in satisfying patients due to individual differences. ketamine is used as a potent anaesthetic and an effective analgesic since 1960’s. the purpose of our study is to observe the effects of low-dose ketamine applied following spinal anaesthesia for postoperative analgesia and nausea & vomiting in pregnant patients. materıal and method: we examined the visual analogue scales values of 120 patients at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 12th, 24th, and 48th hours and evaluated nausea & vomiting. we also recorded the first additional analgesic demands and ketamine associated adverse events. results: we detected significant differences between the visual analogue scale values of ketamine and control group in the 2nd, 4th and 12th hours. significant differences were also seen in the first analgesic demand periods. we found a significant decrease in nausea and vomiting and insignificant elevation of psychodysleptic findings in ketamine group. conclusion: we believe that low-dose ketamine can be effectively used to sustain analgesia in pregnant patients who received spinal anaesthesia. we further believe that the effect of ketamine in decreasing nausea and vomiting, in exchange of low levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms, is a remarkable subject.