[ efficacy of dexamethasone on post-cholecystectomy nausea and vomiting]

ABSTRACT

Nausea and vomiting are among the common complications of anesthesia and surgery with a higher incidence in laparoscopic cholecystectomy [LC]. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pre-operative dexamethasone on the relief of postoperative nausea and vomiting following LC. This is a randomized clinical trial study. In this prospective, placebo-controlled study, 90 patients requiring laparoscopic cholecystectomy [LC] were randomly divided into two groups the dexamethasone group [n=45] received dexamethasone [8 mg, IV] and the control group [n=45] received saline [2cc, IV] 90 minutes before the anesthesia. Signs and symptoms of nausea and vomiting were recorded every 4h for 16h in the two groups. The data were analyzed using Fisher's, Chi-square and t test. A lower feeling of nausea was seen 4h and 12h post-surgery in the dexamethasone group [P=0.02, P=004], also a lower accurance of vomithng was observed 4h post-operative in the same group compared to the control group [P=0.013]. The results suggest that pre-operative dexamethasone [8 mg, IV] application significantly reduces the incidence of post-operative nausea and vomiting