Impact of antiemetic selection on postoperative nausea and vomiting and patient satisfaction.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the impact of antiemetic selection on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and patient satisfaction after ambulatory surgery.


METHODS
Prospective, observational study.


METHODS
Ambulatory surgery center in an academic medical center.


METHODS
Five hundred fifty-four consecutive patients undergoing ambulatory surgical procedures of any kind.


METHODS
Data on antiemetic utilization, occurrence of PONV, and patient satisfaction were collected perioperatively. Multiple regression analyses for antiemetic choice were performed.


RESULTS
Prophylactic antiemetic therapy was administered to 292 (52.7%) patients, most often with droperidol (200 patients), metoclopramide (134), or dexamethasone (55). Forty-one (7.4%) patients had an episode of emesis in the postanesthesia care unit. Choice of antiemetic was not a significant predictor of PONV. Patient satisfaction for all patients was 9.5 on a 10-point scale, with no agent more or less successful than any other.


CONCLUSIONS
As choice of antiemetic drug given for prophylaxis had little impact on clinical outcome or patient satisfaction, traditional agents should form the core of antiemetics used for PONV prophylaxis in ambulatory surgery patients.
Darkow
T
T
College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA.
Gora-Harper
M L
ML
Goulson
D T
DT
Record
K E
KE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000932:Antiemetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D020250:Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000932:Antiemetics