Management strategies for the treatment and prevention of postoperative/postdischarge nausea and vomiting: an updated review.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and postdischarge nausea and vomiting (PDNV) remain common and distressing complications following surgery. The routine use of opioid analgesics for perioperative pain management is a major contributing factor to both PONV and PDNV after surgery. PONV and PDNV can delay discharge from the hospital or surgicenter, delay the return to normal activities of daily living after discharge home, and increase medical costs. The high incidence of PONV and PDNV has persisted despite the introduction of many new antiemetic drugs (and more aggressive use of antiemetic prophylaxis) over the last two decades as a result of growth in minimally invasive ambulatory surgery and the increased emphasis on earlier mobilization and discharge after both minor and major surgical procedures (e.g. enhanced recovery protocols). Pharmacologic management of PONV should be tailored to the patient's risk level using the validated PONV and PDNV risk-scoring systems to encourage cost-effective practices and minimize the potential for adverse side effects due to drug interactions in the perioperative period. A combination of prophylactic antiemetic drugs with different mechanisms of action should be administered to patients with moderate to high risk of developing PONV. In addition to utilizing prophylactic antiemetic drugs, the management of perioperative pain using opioid-sparing multimodal analgesic techniques is critically important for achieving an enhanced recovery after surgery. In conclusion, the utilization of strategies to reduce the baseline risk of PONV (e.g. adequate hydration and the use of nonpharmacologic antiemetic and opioid-sparing analgesic techniques) and implementing multimodal antiemetic and analgesic regimens will reduce the likelihood of patients developing PONV and PDNV after surgery.

An update on the management of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and postdischarge nausea and vomiting (PDNV) remain common and distressing complications following surgery. PONV and PDNV can delay discharge and recovery and increase medical costs. The high incidence of PONV has persisted in part because of the tremendous growth in ambulatory surgery and the increased emphasis on earlier mobilization and discharge after both minor and major operations. Pharmacological management of PONV should be tailored to the patients' risk level using the PONV and PDNV scoring systems to minimize the potential for these adverse side effects in the postoperative period. A combination of prophylactic antiemetic drugs should be administered to patients with moderate-to-high risk of developing PONV in order to facilitate the recovery process. Optimal management of perioperative pain using opioid-sparing multimodal analgesic techniques and preventing PONV using prophylactic antiemetics are key elements for achieving an enhanced recovery after surgery. Strategies that include reductions of the baseline risk (e.g., adequate hydration, use of opioid-sparing analgesic techniques) as well as a multimodal antiemetic regimen will improve the likelihood of preventing both PONV and PDNV.

Observation of effects of mannitol combined with multimodal-antiemetic therapy in patients of postoperative nausea and vomiting undergoing thyroidectomy / 临床麻醉学杂志

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of multimodal-antiemetic therapy on postoperative dizziness,headache,nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients undergoing thyroidectomy.Methods One hundred patients (39 males and 61 females,ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ) scheduled for thyroidectomy were randomly divided into two groups according to random number table: control group (group C) and multimodal-antiemetic therapy group (group M).Two groups received total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and remifentanil.Prophylactic dexamethasone 10 mg were given after anesthesia induction and palonosetron hydrochloride 0.25 mg was used 30 min before the end of surgery in both groups.Mannitol 2 ml/kg in group M and the same amount of normal saline in group C were given 30 min before the end of surgery.The incidence of dizziness,headache and PONV were observed for 24 h in two groups.Results The incidence of headache was 5 cases (10%)and PONV was 5 cases (10%) in group M,which were respectively significantly lower than that of group C of 15 cases (30%) and 12 cases (24%) in 24 h after surgery (P<0.05).The additional antiemetic therapy for 24 h after surgery in group M of 2 cases (4%) was significantly lower than that of group C of 9 cases (18%) (P<0.05).Conclusion The multimodal-antiemetic therapy: prophylactic dexamethasone,palonosetron hydrochloride and mannitol were used 30 min before the end of surgery could significantly reduce the incidence of dizziness,headache and PONV after thyroidectomy.