A comparative study of the efficacy of postoperative analgesia with intraoperative epidural lidocaine with or without morphine

We compared postoperative analgesia in 15 patients (group A) who were given intraoperative epidural morphine 3 mg and lidocaine 150 mg after laminectomy/discectomy with that of 15 patients (group B) who were given only epidural lidocaine 150 mg. Epidural administration was accomplished by direct placement of the epidural catheter into the epidural space under direct vision during surgery. Eight patients (53%) in group A and 15 patients (100%) in group B required supplementary narcotics during the first 24 h postoperatively (P