Effects of analgesia methods on serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels after cesarean delivery

This study aimed to discuss the effects of 3 different analgesia methods on serum IL-6 and IL-10 in patients after cesarean delivery. Thirty full-term women, who underwent cesarean delivery, were randomly assigned to 3 analgesia groups (10 cases each) as follows: intramuscular injection of 100 mg pethidine (NC group), patient controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) of 5 mg morphine plus 150 mg ropivacaine (MR group), and patient controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) of 150 mg sufentanil plus 5 mg droperidol (SF group). An electronic analgesia pump was available in all 3 groups. At 4, 12, 24, and 48 h after surgery, visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores were evaluated, IL-6 and IL-10 serum levels were measured, and adverse reactions were documented. The MR and SF groups responded well to analgesia. VAS scores at 12 and 24 h in these 2 groups were significantly lower than those in the NC group (P < 0.05). IL-6 and IL-10 levels were elevated to varying degrees postoperatively in all 3 groups. In the MR and SF groups, no significant difference occurred at each time point (P > 0.05), but compared with the NC group, significant differences were observed at 12 and 24 h (P < 0.05). Both PCIA and PCEA produced good analgesic effect, decreased postoperative level of serum IL-6, promoted release of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10, maintained balance in postoperative serum IL-6 level, and reduced the postoperative inflammatory response. Adverse reactions were significantly higher with epidural morphine than with intravenous sufentanil.