Sufentanil for carboprost-induced adverse reactions during cesarean delivery under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia.

Objectives: Carboprost plays an important role in managing refractory uterine atony and severe postpartum hemorrhage. However, it is associated with challenging adverse reactions. We aimed to evaluate the clinical effects of low dose sufentanil on the prevention of adverse events associated with carboprost during cesarean delivery.

Material and methods: Patients were randomly divided into two groups: a placebo control group (group C, n = 15) that received an intravenous infusion of 1 mL of normal saline 2 min before carboprost and a sufentanil group (group S, n = 15) that received 5 μg of sufentanil. The primary outcome was the incidence of nausea and vomiting following carboprost administration.

Results: The incidence of nausea, vomiting, and gastrointestinal discomfort was significantly lower in group S than in group C (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The prophylactic use of low dose sufentanil reduces the incidence of gastrointestinal side effects caused by carboprost administration during cesarean section.