The exact incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients on steroids undergoing neurosurgical procedures is not known. This prospective randomized double-blind study was planned to know the efficacy of prophylactic ondansetron in the prevention of PONV in patients on steroids as compared with placebo. Seventy adult patients of either sex who had received preoperative steroids (dexamethasone) for at least 24 hours and were scheduled to undergo craniotomy for supratentorial tumors were included. Patients were randomly allocated using a randomization chart to 1 of the 2 groups to receive either ondansetron 4 mg (group O) or 0.9% saline (group S) intravenously at the time of dural closure. Numeric Rating Scale score for nausea and pain intensity was recorded preoperatively and till 24 hours postoperatively. The 6-hour postoperative nausea score was significantly lower in group O [median, 0; interquartile range (IQR), 0 to 20] than in group S (median, 20; IQR, 0 to 20) (P<0.05). The incidence of vomiting was lower in group O (23%) than in group S (46%) (P<0.05). The total number of emetic episodes, the number of doses of rescue antiemetics given in the first 6 postoperative hours, and the total number of rescue antiemetics given were significantly lower in group O than in group S (P<0.05). Intravenous administration of 4 mg of ondansetron at the time of dural closure was effective in reducing the incidence of PONV and the rescue antiemetics requirement in patients on preoperative steroids undergoing craniotomy for supratentorial tumors.
Nausea and vomiting are the most common distressing symptom in the post-operative period. It can result in delayed hospital discharge and increased hospital cost. The present study was done to assess the effect of dexamethasone prophylaxis on the incidences of nausea and vomiting in post-operative period in patients undergoing gynecological surgeries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total number of 66 patients, aged between 20 to 65 years, posted for elective gynecological surgeries under spinal anesthesia were included in the study. Patients were randomized into two groups of 33 patients each, and the study group (group-D) received Inj. Dexamethasone 8 mg intravenously as prophylactic antiemetic 1 hour before surgery whereas control group (group-N) received normal saline. Post-operatively, the frequency of nausea and vomiting were observed and its influences on postoperative analgesia were also noted. RESULTS: In our study, 4(12.1%) patients in group-D and 8(24.2%) patients in group-N had nausea and vomiting in the intraoperative period (p value=0.202). 24.2% patients in group-D had vomiting in the postoperative period as compared to 72.7% in group-N and group D patients had significant reduction in incidences of nausea and vomiting in immediate post-operative period compared to group N (p-value 0.016). Accordingly, the mean requirement of rescue antiemetic was less in group-D compared to Group-N. Further, patients in group-D had better VAS scores compared to patients in group-N in post-operative period. CONCLUSION: Use of Dexamethasone prior to subarachnoid block in patients undergoing gynecological surgeries reduces the incidence of nausea and vomiting and the requirement of antiemetic in the postoperative period, and better post-operative analgesia.
Background:There is no ideal postoperative pain management. Simple surgeon-delivered local anesthetic (LA) techniques such as wound infiltration and regional nerve blocks can play a significant role in the improvement of postoperative pain relief.Settings and Design:Administered paper questionnaires to delegates attending surgical society conferences.Methods:A 15-point questionnaire was administered to surgical delegates attending general surgey, orthopedic and gynecological conferences at different locations.Results:Response rate was 65.26%. 33% of surgeons used LA regularly, 31% occasionally, and 36% never used LA for postoperative analgesia. 50% of all surgeons used lignocaine for local anesthesia (P < 0.0001) and infiltration (65% of all surgeons) was the most common method (P < 0.0001). Only 30% surgeons knew the correct duration of action of bupivacaine infiltration (P < 0.0001) and only 4% surgeons knew that LAs are antimicrobial (P < 0.0001). 53% of orthopedic surgeons used combination of lignocaine and bupivacaine, while 46% of general and 73% gynecologists surgeons used lignocaine more commonly. Only <5% of all surgeons had used long-acting liposomal bupivacaine and almost 40% more were willing to use the liposomal LA drug only if more evidence is available.Conclusions:Although majority of surgeons were aware of the benefits of LA use for postoperative pain relief, reluctance, lack of knowledge of LA drugs and methods of LA use and fear of infection and wound healing are barriers for effective use of LA drugs for postoperative pain relief. Attending anesthesiologists must develop methods in the operating room to create awareness about the effectiveness of LA use for postoperative pain relief. Single-use vials or ampules of LA must be encouraged to LA use for postoperative analgesia, especially in the third-world countries.
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