Motion sickness as a predictor of postoperative vomiting in children aged 1-16 years.
BACKGROUND
Motion sickness (MS) may be a risk factor for postoperative vomiting (POV), but its independent predictive value in children is not known.


METHODS
A convenience sample of 70 consecutive patients aged 1-16 years scheduled for elective surgery were questioned, a history of MS was sought and patients were observed for the subsequent development of POV.


RESULTS
The overall incidence of POV was 29%. Fourteen children (20%) had a history of MS; MS-positive children were more likely to vomit than those who were MS-negative (P < 0.01). The type of surgery, use of opioids or prophylactic antiemetics did not differ significantly between the groups. The sensitivity of MS as a predictor of POV is 45% and the specificity 90%, giving a positive predictive value of 64.3% and a negative predictive value of 80.4%.


CONCLUSIONS
Motion sickness is associated with POV in this group of children, but its positive predictive value is fairly low.
Thomas
Mark
M
Department of Anaesthesia, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK. thomam@gosh.nhs.uk
Woodhead
Greg
G
Masood
Nadia
N
Howard
Richard
R
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009041:Motion Sickness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020250:Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity