Normal postoperative gastric emptying after orthopaedic surgery with spinal anaesthesia and i.m. ketorolac as the first postoperative analgesic.

We have assessed the effect of i.m. ketorolac or morphine on early postoperative gastric emptying of liquids in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery with spinal anaesthesia. Liquid gastric emptying was measured by absorption of paracetamol with patients acting as their own controls. There was no delay after ketorolac 30 mg, but morphine 10 mg resulted in marked delay. There was no difference in postoperative visual analogue pain scores between treatments.