[Cervical epidural morphine and buprenorphine for postoperative pain relief after thoracic surgery--a comparative study in the same patients].

The effects of cervical epidural morphine and buprenorphine on postoperative pain were studied in 12 patients who received thoracic surgery twice. The patients who had received morphine 3 mg on the first operation were given buprenorphine 0.15 mg on the second operation, and the others received them vice versa. Morphine or buprenorphine was administered with 6 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine before skin incision. The duration of pain relief with morphine was longer (21.5 +/- 4.0 h) than with buprenorphine (13.9 +/- 7.8 h). The result of the questionnaires to the patients after operation shows that 10 patients (84%) were satisfied with morphine whereas only 6 patients (50%) were satisfied with buprenorphine. Seven patients preferred morphine to buprenorphine for postoperative analgesia, and the rest of the patients stated that analgesic effects were similar between the two. It seems that epidural morphine 3 mg may give more excellent postoperative pain relief after the thoracic surgery than epidural buprenorphine 0.15 mg.