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Comparison of Epidural Oxycodone and Epidural Morphine

Comparison of Epidural Oxycodone and Epidural Morphine for Post Caesarean Section Analgesia: a Randomised Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02277678
Enrollment
100
Registered
2014-10-29
Start date
2013-08-01
Completion date
2014-12-01
Last updated
2026-08-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Pruritus

Keywords

Pruritus

Brief summary

The primary objectives of this study are to compare the efficacy of pain relief between epidural oxycodone and epidural morphine for postoperative analgesia after elective caesarean section and to compare the incidence and severity of pruritus. Secondary objectives are to compare other side effects of epidural administered oxycodone and morphine (nausea and vomiting, sedation, respiratory depression) and to investigate the safety and efficacy of epidural oxycodone and epidural morphine after use for postoperative analgesia in caesarean sections.

Detailed description

Undesirable side effects such as pruritus and nausea are common with epidural morphine and are thought to be due to mu-opioid receptor stimulation at the supra-spinal level. Recent studies of epidural oxycodone for abdominal and gynaecological surgery have shown that it is as effective as morphine with fewer side effects by this route. This has not been established in patients undergoing caesarean section. Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic opioid derivative that resembles morphine structurally and has similar lipid solubility. It has been reported that the analgesic action of oxycodone is more rapid in onset when compared with morphine and is mediated by kappa-opioid receptors in the spinal cord. The significance of our study would be to establish that epidural oxycodone reduces the side effects of pruritus of epidural morphine whilst still maintaining similar analgesia.

Interventions

DRUGOpioid administration oxycodone

Epidural administration single dose through epidural catheter

DRUGOpioid administration morphine

Sponsors

KK Women's and Children's Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER_GOV

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
21 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status 1-2, * aged between 21 to 50 years undergoing a term elective caesarean section and * had consented for combined spinal-epidural (CSE) anaesthesia

Exclusion criteria

* concurrent opioid therapy, * contraindications to CSE anaesthesia or any of the study medications, * a history of pre-existing nausea and vomiting, * failure to identify intrathecal space at time of anaesthesia, * inadvertent dural puncture with the epidural needle and * conversion of regional anaesthesia to general anaesthesia

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pruritus1 dayIncidence of pruritus at 24 hours

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pain1 dayPain score at 24 hours on using 0 to 10 scale
Nausea and Vomiting1 dayIncidence of Nausea and Vomiting at 24 hours

Countries

Singapore

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORBan L Sng, FANZCA

KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 7, 2026