Effects of esketamine on puerperal and postpartum depression after cesarean section in elderly parturients

ZHANG Lin; HE Fangping; WU Dandan

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2096-2681.2025.01.004

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of esketamine on puerperal and postpartum depression in elderly parturients.Methods The clinical data of 98 cases of elderly parturients,aged ≥35 years old,ASA Ⅰ or Ⅱ,BMI 18.69-23.37 kg/m2,who chose cesarean delivery in Yunyang People's Hospital of Danyang City from December 2022 to January 2024 were retrospectively analyzed and divided into the control group(buprenorphine+palonosetron,n=46)and the experimental group(aceketamine+buprenorphine+palonosetron,n=52)based on different analgesic modalities.Puerperal depression(Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale),incidence of postpartum depres-sion,pain level[Analgesic Numeric Rating Scale(NRS)]and sleep(Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale)were observed in both groups.Results There was no significant difference in the general information of the two groups(P＞0.05);all scores of postpartum depression in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05);at 2 h,12 h,and 24 h postoperatively,the NRS scores of the experimental group were(7.52±1.12),(5.14±1.03),and(2.12±0.94),respectively,which were lower than those of the control group(P＜0.05);at12h postoperatively,the NRS scores of the two groups were lower than those at 2 h postopera-tively;at 24 h postoperatively,the NRS scores of the two groups were lower than those at 12 h postoperatively.The incidence of postpar-tum depression in the experimental group was 1.92％which was lower than that in the control group(15.22％)(P＜0.05);and all the scores of sleep quality in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion For elderly parturients undergoing cesarean section,esketamine can improve their puerperal depression and sleep quality,and reduce pain levels and the risk of postpartum depression.