Thiopentone, thiopentone/ketamine, and ketamine for induction of anaesthesia in caesarean section.

Seventy-five healthy patients were randomly allocated to receive thiopentone, thiopentone/ketamine or ketamine for induction of anaesthesia for elective Caesarean section. Thiopentone resulted in the most pronounced and ketamine in the smallest drop in blood pressure, while the combination induced only moderate haemodynamic changes. Intra-operative awareness occurred in one patient in the thiopentone group, six of the ketamine patients had nightmares, and one patient of the combination group reported pleasant dreams but no awareness. The muscle tone of neonates in the thiopentone group was more reduced than in neonates in the other two groups. Infants delivered after uterine incision-to-delivery intervals exceeding 3 min more often had Apgar scores < 7 than those delivered in less than 3 min.