title: Effect of cricoid pressure on the incidence of nausea and vomiting in the immediate postoperative period.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate whether the application of cricoid pressure at the time of induction of anaesthesia was associated with a lesser incidence of postoperative nausea or vomiting in the immediate postoperative period compared with a group in which no cricoid pressure was applied, in patients undergoing day care gynaecological laparoscopy. One hundred ASA I and II females were randomly allocated to receive cricoid pressure at the time of induction. The peri-operative anaesthetic technique was standardised. The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in the group who received cricoid pressure was 16% in the recovery room compared with 26% in the no cricoid group. When the period was extended to the first 6 h post anaesthesia the incidence was 30% in the cricoid and 44% in the no cricoid group. This difference did not achieve statistical significance in either period (p > 0.05). The results suggest that application of cricoid pressure at the time of induction does not significantly alter the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in the first 6 h of recovery from anaesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: ul Haq
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods*; D003413:Cricoid Cartilage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D020250:Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011312:Pressure