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Monitoring in the intensive care unit is essential

  • Clinical Controversy
  • Intraspinal Opioids: Implications For Monitoring
  • Published:
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Abstract

Patients receiving intraspinal opiates should be monitored in the intensive care unit for at least 24 hours to prevent potentially lethal outcomes. These include respiratory depression caused by sequestration of the morphine in the cerebrospinal fluid and migration of epidural catheters in the subarachnoid or intravascular space. At this time, most hospitals are not equipped or staffed adequately to guarantee the safety of these patients outside the intensive care unit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. From the Department of Anesthesia, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, 02115, Boston, MA

    Robert F. LaPorta PhD, MD &  Mark D. Johnson MD

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  1. Robert F. LaPorta PhD, MD
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  2. Mark D. Johnson MD
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LaPorta, R.F., Johnson, M.D. Monitoring in the intensive care unit is essential. J Clin Monitor Comput 5, 186–189 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01627451

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01627451

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