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Postoperative nausea and vomiting. A retrospective analysis in patients undergoing elective craniotomy.

Nausea and vomiting are important complications after craniotomy, for which there are little published epidemiologic data. We retrospectively examined the incidence of postcraniotomy nausea and vomiting to define risk factors. Medical records from 199 adults undergoing elective craniotomy were identified. Data extracted from surgery and the initial 48 hours postoperatively included gender, age, supratentorial versus infratentorial craniotomy, type of anesthesia (general versus monitored anesthesia care), intraoperative fentanyl dose, duration of anesthesia, antiemetic administration intraoperatively and postoperatively, and incidence of postoperative nausea, emesis, and opioid use. Postoperative nausea was recorded in 99 patients (50%) and emesis in 78 patients (39%). Postoperative opioids were administered to 170 patients (85%). Antiemetics were given intraoperatively to 13 patients (7%) and postoperatively to 121 patients (61%). More women (61%) than men (37%) had nausea (P = 0.001); emesis (women = 46%; men = 31%, P = 0.03); and postoperative antiemetic use (women = 69%; men = 51%, P = 0.013). The incidence of postoperative nausea (P = 0.04) and vomiting (P = 0.06) was greater in patients having infratentorial surgery. Emesis was more frequent in younger patients (P = 0.03). Postoperative nausea and vomiting were independent of anesthetic duration, fentanyl dose, or postoperative opioid use and occurred with similar frequency after general anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care. We conclude that postoperative nausea and vomiting occur frequently after craniotomy. Infratentorial surgery, female gender, and younger age are significant risk factors for this complication.

Adolescent↗

Nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation.

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency catheter ablation is a technique for curing cardiac arrhythmias by destroying tissue that is a critical part of the targeted electrical circuit. Nausea and vomiting have been observed after use of this technique, but no study to date has examined these complications. OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of nausea and vomiting after radiofrequency catheter ablation, determine factors related to nausea and vomiting, and evaluate the antiemetic efficacy of promethazine given during the procedure. METHODS: Medical records for 369 cases of radiofrequency catheter ablation performed in a 4-year period at a university medical center were reviewed. RESULTS: Nausea after the procedure was documented in 22% of cases. Logistic regression analysis based on variables significant in bivariate analysis revealed that younger age, female sex, and longer procedure duration were significantly and independently related to nausea. Vomiting after the procedure occurred in 13% of cases. Logistic regression revealed that younger age and longer procedure duration were significantly and independently related to vomiting. Further analysis showed that patients who received larger doses of promethazine relative to the dose of fentanyl had a significantly lower incidence of vomiting. CONCLUSIONS: Nausea and vomiting occurred in a considerable number of cases. Female sex, younger age, and longer procedure duration increased the risk of nausea, whereas only age and procedure duration were associated with vomiting. This study may guide clinicians to use a prophylactic antiemetic in patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation, especially patients at increased risk for nausea and vomiting.

Adolescent↗

A survey on the management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy by obstetrician/gynecologists.

Our objective was to survey obstetrician/gynecologists concerning their management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. We mailed a survey on nutrition during pregnancy to the 230 ACOG Fellows who are members of the Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network and to a control sample of 800 non-Network Fellows. Results presented here are for the questions concerning prevalence and management of pregnancy-induced nausea. A total of 488 surveys (47.4% response rate) were analyzed. Respondents reported that on average, 51.4% of patients complain of nausea during pregnancy, and 9.2% complain of severe or prolonged nausea with vomiting. Respondents reported that on average, 2.4% of patients require hospitalization because of hyperemesis gravidarum. Treatments recommended by a majority of respondents for moderate nausea were eating frequent small meals (95.5%), snacking on soda crackers (88.5%), avoiding strong odors (75.6%), taking a prescribed antiemetic (71.3%), taking ginger (51.8%), and eliminating iron supplements (50%). Women physicians were more likely to recommend ginger and less likely to prescribe an antiemetic. For severe and sustained nausea with vomiting, with additional symptoms such as dehydration or weight loss, intravenous hydration (88.7%) and antiemetics (74.0%) were the most common treatment options. Almost half (48.8%) of respondents would hospitalize such patients. We conclude that obstetrician/gynecologists appear to be knowledgeable concerning current opinion on managing nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Improvements in the management of nausea during pregnancy are more likely to come from further research, not education of physicians.

Journal Article↗

Use of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists to prevent nausea and emesis caused by chemotherapy for patients with breast carcinoma in community practice settings.

BACKGROUND: Although 5-HT3 receptor antagonists are clinically more effective in controlling emesis, particularly that caused by high dose cisplatin, than previously available agents, they appear to be less effective against nausea. This report focuses on the effectiveness of these agents against nausea and emesis in patients receiving two moderately emetogenic combination chemotherapy regimens as treatment for breast carcinoma in community practice settings. METHODS: Six hundred ninety-two breast carcinoma patients (688 female, 4 male; mean age, 51 years) enrolled in a nonrandomized study completed the Morrow Assessment of Nausea and Emesis (MANE) following 4 consecutive chemotherapy treatments. The frequency, duration, and severity of postchemotherapy nausea (PN) and postchemotherapy emesis (PE) were compared by type of antiemetic (5-HT3 receptor antagonist vs. other) and chemotherapy regimen (cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin with or without 5-fluorouracil [CA/CAF] vs. cyclophosphamide, methrotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil [CMF]). RESULTS: Within each regimen, the mean duration of PN was significantly longer for patients who received a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist than for those who were not given an antiemetic of that type (CA: 40.3 hours vs. 29.6 hours, P < 0.05; CMF: 37.6 hours vs. 30.2 hours, P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the frequency or severity of nausea or in the frequency, severity, or duration of emesis by type of antiemetic for patients receiving either regimen. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this observational study suggest that 5-HT3 receptor antagonists are no more effective than other commonly used medications in controlling postchemotherapy nausea and emesis in women with breast carcinoma who are treated with moderately emetogenic chemotherapy in community practice settings. In fact, they may be associated with significant prolongation of the course of postchemotherapy nausea.

Adult↗

Measuring chemotherapy-induced nausea and emesis.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and emesis (CINE) is one of the most dreaded side effects of cancer therapy. To investigate the influence of these symptoms on a patient's quality of life (QOL), a validated tool measuring many domains is needed. METHODS: A QOL questionnaire consisting of scales from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30, the Morrow Assessment of Nausea and Emesis, the Osoba Nausea and Emesis Module, and new items specific to nausea, emesis, and retching was constructed and administered daily for 7-9 days to outpatients receiving emetogenic chemotherapy. RESULTS: Test-retest and internal consistency reliabilities ranged from 0.44 to 0.84 and from 0.59 to 0.85, respectively. Item and scale correlations indicated good convergent and discriminant validity. Scales and items measuring similar factors (e.g., severity of emesis and severity of nausea) had strong correlations than did scales measuring dissimilar factors (e.g., cognitive functioning and physical functioning). The validity of known groups was demonstrated by significant differences (P < 0.01) in patients' QOL scores between days with no episodes of nausea, emesis, or retching, days with 1 or 2 episodes, and days with more than 3 episodes. Patients' QOL significantly decreased as the number of episodes per day increased (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A CINE QOL questionnaire that successfully measures the short-term impact of nausea, emesis, and retching on patients receiving emetogenic chemotherapy has been developed, largely as a battery of preexisting questionnaires. The psychometric properties of the new questionnaire show adequate reliability and validity to warrant its use in clinical trials and outcomes studies. CINE adversely affects many domains within a patient's QOL.

Aged↗

Definitional issues in the study of anticipatory nausea in cancer chemotherapy.

Biobehavioral research investigating anticipatory nausea in cancer chemotherapy has been hampered by the lack of a consistent and conceptually defensible definition of this phenomenon. The most frequently employed definitions have failed to account for the possibility that reports of pretreatment nausea might be attributable to pharmacological factors. One possibility is to restrict the definition of anticipatory nausea to instances of nausea or vomiting experienced prior to a treatment on Day 1 of a new chemotherapy cycle. The impact of this and previous common definitions of anticipatory nausea on research addressing the issues of prevalence rates and characteristics associated with the development of anticipatory nausea is illustrated and discussed. Overall, researchers are encouraged to reduce inappropriate criterion group heterogeneity through careful consideration of how the presence or absence of anticipatory nausea is defined.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Patient expectations as predictor of chemotherapy-induced nausea.

We examined the relationship between patients' pretreatment expectations for nausea and vomiting and their subsequent development in a homogeneous group of 29 female cancer patients receiving platinum-containing chemotherapy as inpatients (Study 1) and in 81 subjects with any of a variety of cancer diagnoses treated largely as outpatients (Study 2). Each study found a significant relationship between patients' expectations for nausea development measured prior to their first treatment and their mean postchemotherapy nausea severity (both, p < 0.05). Patients' expectations accounted for unique variance in nausea severity in each study even after controlling for known pharmacological and physiological predictors of nausea (Study 1: delta R2 = .18, p < .04; Study 2: delta R2 = .05, p < .03). By contrast, we found no significant relationships between expectations for vomiting and subsequent vomiting. Our results support the view that patients' expectations for nausea affect its subsequent development, indicating the presence of a significant psychological component in treatment-related nausea. Implications of this are discussed.

Adult↗

A phase II trial of olanzapine for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a Hoosier Oncology Group study.

In a previous phase I study, olanzapine was demonstrated to be a safe and effective agent for the prevention of delayed emesis in chemotherapy-naïve cancer patients receiving cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and/or cisplatin. Using the maximum tolerated dose of olanzapine in the phase I trial, a phase II trial was performed for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy-naïve patients. The regimen was 5 mg/day of oral olanzapine on the 2 days prior to chemotherapy, 10 mg on the day of chemotherapy, day 1, (added to intravenous granisetron, 10 mcg/kg and dexamethasone 20 mg), and 10 mg/day on days 2-4 after chemotherapy (added to dexamethasone, 8 mg p.o. BID days 2 and 3, and 4 mg p.o. BID day 4). Thirty patients (median age 58.5 years, range 25-84; 23 women; ECOG PS 0, 1) consented to the protocol, and all were evaluable. Complete response (CR) (no emesis, no rescue) was 100% for the acute period (24 h postchemotherapy), 80% for the delayed period (days 2-5 postchemotherapy), and 80% for the overall period (0-120 h postchemotherapy) in ten patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy (cisplatin > or =70 mg/m(2)). CR was also 100% for the acute period, 85% for the delayed period, and 85% for the overall period in 20 patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (doxorubicin > or =50 mg/m(2)). Nausea was very well controlled in the patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy, with no patient having nausea [0 on scale of 0-10, M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI)] in the acute or delayed periods. Nausea was also well controlled in patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy, with no nausea in 85% of patients in the acute period and 65% in the delayed and overall periods. There were no grade 3 or 4 toxicities and no significant pain, fatigue, disturbed sleep, memory changes, dyspnea, lack of appetite, drowsiness, dry mouth, mood changes, or restlessness experienced by the patients. Complete response and control of nausea in subsequent cycles of chemotherapy (25 patients, cycle 2; 25 patients, cycle 3; 21 patients, cycle 4) were equal to or greater than cycle 1. Olanzapine is safe and highly effective in controlling acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving highly and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy.

Administration, Oral↗

Progress in reducing anticipatory nausea and vomiting: a study of community practice.

Chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting (NV) in 300 consecutive patients treated in community practices prior to the availability of 5-HT3 antiemetics (9/87 to 1/91) were compared with NV in a second sample of 300 patients treated after their commercial introduction (9/93 to 2/95). Eighty-six percent of the later patients received 5-HT3 antiemetics, and significantly fewer (43.3%) reported one or more episodes of posttreatment vomiting during their first four cycles of chemotherapy compared with those in the previous sample (55.0%: P < .01). Identical numbers of both groups (79.3%) reported at least one episode of posttreatment nausea. A significant increase in the average duration of both posttreatment nausea (from 28.1 h to 37.2 h; P = 0.001) and posttreatment vomiting (from 10.9 h-16.5 h, P = .02) was found; no significant differences were seen in the reported severity of either symptom. The proportion of patients experiencing at least one episode of anticipatory nausea (31.0% vs 32.0%) or anticipatory vomiting (7.7% vs 6.3%) did not differ significantly (P > 0.5) between groups, nor were there significant differences in the duration or severity of anticipatory symptoms (P > 0.4 for all comparisons). The reduction in the frequency of posttreatment vomiting supports research findings of efficacy. Findings of an increase in duration of posttreatment nausea and emesis and no change in the frequency of posttreatment nausea or in anticipatory symptoms show a continuing need for progress in control of posttreatment emesis and emphasize the need for further research on the control of chemotherapy-induced nausea.

Adolescent↗

Nausea and vomiting induced by arterial chemo-embolization in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and the antiemetic effect of ondansetron hydrochloride.

To determine the incidence of nausea and vomiting and the antiemetic effect of ondansetron hydrochloride (OND) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with arterial chemo-embolization, we studied 59 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) or lipiodolized transcatheter arterial infusion (L-TAI). We investigated the incidence of nausea and vomiting and the amount of food intake when TAE or L-TAI was performed. All patients who experienced nausea and vomiting received OND administered prophylactically at the time of the next TAE or L-TAI to evaluate the antiemetic effect of the drug. Cumulative rates of nausea and vomiting during the week following arterial chemo-embolization were 44.8% and 27.6%, respectively. There was a tendency for the incidence to be higher in patients treated with the anticancer agent zinostatin stimalamer (SMANCS) than in those treated with epirubicin hydrochloride (EPI). Regarding food intake, 53.1% of the patients stated that they ate "half or more than half" of the food provided on the day of arterial chemo-embolization. The rate improved as time went on. In 5 patients who experienced nausea and vomiting at the time of arterial chemo-embolization, nausea and vomiting were inhibited satisfactorily by OND. When arterial chemo-embolization was performed, antiemetic treatment for approximately 3 days was necessary to improve patients' quality of life (QOL) to an acceptable level, and OND was found to be effective for the purpose in our 5 patients who had experienced nausea and/or vomiting at the previous treatment.

Adult↗

Anticipatory nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy.

Fifty adult oncology outpatients receiving chemotherapy were surveyed to assess their experiences with chemotherapy-associated nausea and vomiting. Of patients who noted post-chemotherapy nausea with or without vomiting, 46% reported anticipatory nausea. The anticipatory symptoms developed after the onset of post-chemotherapy neausea. Patients experiencing anticipatory symptoms had received chemotherapy over a significantly longer period of time than had the patients with post-treatment nausea only. Of these patients who had noted post-chemotherapy nausea with or without vomiting for two or more months, 50% reported pre-treatment nausea with or without vomiting. There was no tendency toward anticipatory symptoms according to age, sex, race, educational level, disease, or type of chemotherapy. Thoughts of chemotherapy, sights, specific odors and tastes evoked anticipatory symptoms. Pre-treatment or anticipatory nausea and vomiting are probably a manifestation of classical (Pavlovian) conditioning.

Adult↗

Differences in autonomic responses between subjects with and without nausea while watching an irregularly oscillating video.

Prodromal signs such as cardiac rhythm disturbance and changes in gastric motility are generally induced before and during nausea in humans. These autonomic reactions were compared in subjects who were or were not experiencing nausea. Nausea was induced by having the subjects view a movie of oscillating pictures. Seventeen healthy volunteers were asked to relax their muscles and watch the movie. Electrogastrogram (EGG), electrocardiogram (ECG), palmar and metopic perspiration, digital blood flow and thoracic movement related to respiration were simultaneously measured while the subjects viewed the movie. A total of 11 of 17 subjects complained of nausea after watching the movie. The characteristic changes in their autonomic responses during exposure to the movie were as follows. The power of the EGG, heart rate and metopic perspiration significantly increased compared to those before watching the movie. The respiratory cycle gradually increased during and even after watching the movie. In contrast, no significant changes in the power of the EGG, heart rate and metopic perspiration were observed in the remaining six subjects who did not experience nausea. The role of the autonomic nervous system in nausea is discussed. These results suggest that these symptoms regarding the sympathetic nervous system could actually be defensive reactions against the sensation of nausea.

Adult↗

Intraoperative nausea and vomiting during cesarean section under regional anesthesia.

Nausea and vomiting during regional anesthesia for cesarean section are very common and unpleasant events. They cause significant distress to the patient and also interfere with the surgical procedure. They have multiple etiologies, which include hypotension, vagal hyperactivity, visceral pain, i.v. opioid supplementation, uterotonic agents and motion. The obstetric anesthesia literature has addressed these causative factors for nausea and vomiting individually, making it difficult for the anesthesiologists to have a comprehensive understanding of these important complications. This review highlights the anesthetic and non-anesthetic causes of intraoperative nausea and vomiting during regional anesthesia for cesarean section and the appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic management. Intraoperative nausea and vomiting can be best prevented by controlling hypotension, optimizing the use of neuraxial and i.v. opioids, improving the quality of block, minimizing surgical stimuli and judicious administration of uterotonic agents. Although prophylactic antiemetics have been advocated during cesarean sections, strict adherence to these practices can effectively lower the incidence of intraoperative nausea and vomiting without the requirement of antiemetic agents. Antiemetics, therefore, should be reserved for the prevention of intraoperative nausea and vomiting in high-risk patients and for the treatment of nausea and vomiting not responding to routine measures.

Adjuvants, Anesthesia↗

Dexamethasone in addition to metoclopramide for chronic nausea in patients with advanced cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

Chronic nausea occurs in most patients with advanced cancer. This study was done to assess the antiemetic effects of dexamethasone in patients with chronic nausea refractory to metoclopramide. Secondary outcomes included appetite, fatigue, and pain. Fifty-one patients who had nausea (> or = 3/10 on a 0-10 scale) for > or = 2 weeks despite 48 hours of oral metoclopramide therapy (40-60 mg/day) were enrolled. Patients received 20 mg/day dexamethasone (DM) orally (n = 25) or placebo (n = 26) for severe nausea in addition to metoclopramide (60 mg/day orally). At baseline the mean nausea intensity ratings in the DM and placebo groups were 8.0 and 7.4. At Day 8 they were 2.1 and 2.0, respectively. At Day 3 and Day 8, the mean difference in nausea intensity for the DM and placebo groups was 4.5 and 2.9 (P = 0.16) and 5.9 and 5.7 (P = 0.85), respectively. Improvement in appetite and fatigue were observed on Day 3 and Day 8 in both groups as compared with the baseline. Pain, vomiting, well-being, and quality of life remained unchanged in both groups at both times. We conclude that DM was not superior to placebo in the management of chronic nausea in our patients with advanced cancer.

Administration, Oral↗

Relationship of gastric myoelectrical and cardiac parasympathetic activity to chemotherapy-induced nausea.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated (a) whether pretreatment levels of gastric tachyarrhythmia, a dysrhythmic pattern of gastric myoelectrical activity, or cardiac parasympathetic activity are associated with the development of chemotherapy-induced nausea and (b) whether chemotherapy-induced nausea is preceded by an increase in gastric tachyarrhythmia and a decrease in cardiac parasympathetic activity, as has been observed during motion sickness. METHODS: Electrogastrograms and estimates of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were obtained from cancer chemotherapy patients before treatment and for approximately 24 hours after treatment. RESULTS: Higher levels of pretreatment gastric tachyarrhythmia were observed on chemotherapy sessions that were followed by posttreatment reports of nausea. Pretreatment levels of RSA, however, did not differ between chemotherapy treatments that were and were not followed by nausea. No statistically significant changes in gastric tachyarrhythmia or RSA were observed prior to first reports of nausea following chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to motion sickness, chemotherapy-induced nausea may not be related to an increase in dysrhythmic gastric myoelectrical activity; however, higher levels of pretreatment gastric tachyarrhythmia may be related to posttreatment reports of chemotherapy-induced nausea.

Adult↗

Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy in relation to prolactin, estrogens, and progesterone: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess pregnancy hormone levels in relation to nausea with or without vomiting. METHODS: In the context of a prospective cohort study, 262 white pregnant women in Boston were observed through delivery. Maternal blood was collected at 16 and 27 weeks' gestation and serum levels of estradiol, estriol, progesterone, prolactin, and sex hormone-binding globulin were determined. Information on sociodemographic and medical variables was collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire and review of medical records. At the 27th gestational week, nausea with or without vomiting at any time during the index pregnancy was ascertained. RESULTS: By the 27th gestational week, 209 women (79.8%) had experienced nausea with or without vomiting. There was a substantial and statistically significant (P <.01) inverse association of prolactin with nausea with or without vomiting at both the first and the second samplings, with or without adjustment for the other measured compounds. Estradiol was positively associated with nausea with or without vomiting risk, but the association was evident only after adjustment for the other measured compounds (P values of.06 and.07 at the first and second samplings, respectively). We found no evidence that estriol, progesterone, or sex hormone-binding globulin was related to nausea with or without vomiting at either the 16th or the 27th week of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Our results point to lower levels of prolactin and, perhaps, higher levels of estradiol as contributing to or correlating with the occurrence of nausea with or without vomiting at any time during the pregnancy until the 27th gestational week. We found no evidence that estriol, progesterone, or sex hormone-binding globulin is associated with this condition.

Adult↗

Ondansetron/promethazine combination or promethazine alone reduces nausea and vomiting after middle ear surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting when a combination of ondansetron and promethazine is given prophylactically, and to ascertain the effect of postoperative nausea and vomiting on recovery room duration and patient satisfaction. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. SETTING: University-affiliated tertiary-care hospital. PATIENTS: 87 ASA physical status I and II adult patients scheduled for middle ear surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive one of the following interventions intravenously: ondansetron 4 mg (Group 1), promethazine 25 mg (Group 2), ondansetron 2 mg plus promethazine 12.5 mg (Group 3, combination), or placebo (Group 4). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Independent, study blinded observers recorded complaints of nausea and number of episodes of vomiting for 24 hours following the patient's first response to commands. All patients were contacted the day after discharge to inquire about nausea and vomiting. The awakening time, postanesthesia care unit and day surgery unit durations, opioid use, and side effects were recorded. At the end of the 24-hour period, the study blinded observers asked patients for an overall assessment of their global anesthesia experience using an 11-point scale. During the 24-hour period, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting was reduced from 74% (placebo) to 39% (promethazine; p = 0.03) and 29% (combination; p = 0.003). Compared with placebo, the severity of vomiting was significantly less in the combination group (p = 0.04). The number of very satisfied patients correlated negatively with the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (p < 0.0001) and with the severity of vomiting (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: The prophylactic use of an antiemetic with middle ear surgery may reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting over 24 hours, and the ondansetron/promethazine combination or promethazine alone are cost-effective choices. Finally, the combination reduced significantly the severity of vomiting.

Adolescent↗

Comparison of oral dolasetron and ondansetron in the prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting in children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, we compared the efficacy of oral dolasetron and ondansetron in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in children after various surgical operations. METHODS: Children were assigned randomly to one of three groups (each contained 50 children) to receive dolasetron 1.8 mg kg(-1) or ondansetron 0.15 mg kg(-1) orally, or a placebo. All children received methylene blue capsules (10 mg) orally as an indicator before the induction of anaesthesia. Postoperatively, contamination of the mouth and the endotracheal tube by methylene blue was recorded, and postoperative nausea and vomiting was recorded for 0-1, 1-24 and 0-24 h. Metoclopramide (0.1 mg kg(-1)) intravenously was used as the rescue antiemetic. RESULTS: In the 0-1 h period after operation, there were no differences between the groups. In the 1-24 h period, dolasetron was significantly better than placebo (nausea 8 versus 24%; vomiting 4 versus 20%; total nausea and vomiting scores 16 versus 48%). Over the 0-24 h period, both dolasetron and ondansetron were significantly better than placebo (nausea 16 versus 26 versus 40%), vomiting (8 versus 16 versus 30%), and total nausea and vomiting scores (32 versus 48 versus 78%). There were no significant differences between dolasetron and ondansetron. There was no important methylene blue contamination, and little use of rescue metoclopramide. There were no important adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic oral dolasetron and ondansetron were effective in reducing postoperative nausea and vomiting in children.

Acetaminophen↗