Usefulness of Ondansetron versus Dexamethasone as Postoperative Antiemetic Prophylaxis during Major Gynecologic Surgery

• Main Authors: Armando González López, Laura Garí Marcos, José A. López Roca, Arani María Sarabia Albor, Giselle Romero Gregorich
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Centro Nacional de Información de Ciencias Médicas. Editorial de Ciencias Médicas (ECIMED) 2020-03-01
• Series: Revista Cubana de Anestesiología y Reanimación
• Subjects: palabras clave: náuseas y vómitos posoperatorios, dexametasona, ondansetron.
• Online Access: http://www.revanestesia.sld.cu/index.php/anestRean/article/view/629

<p><strong>Introduction</strong>: Postoperative nausea and vomiting are an unwanted sequel during the anesthetic recovery stage.</p><p><strong>Objective</strong>: To evaluate the usefulness of dexamethasone compared with ondansetron for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after major gynecological surgical procedures, under general orotracheal anesthesia.</p><p><strong>Method</strong>: A prospective, analytical and observational study was carried out with 84 patients older than 19 years of age, at Miguel Enríquez Hospital Clinical-Surgical Hospital, from October 2018 to September 2019, divided sequentially, in order of arrival at the surgical unit, into two groups. The group 1 was administered dexamethasone (4 mg intravenously), and the group 2 was administered ondansetron (4 mg), 30 min before the end of the surgery.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: The average risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting prevailed significantly among patients aged 41-50 years. Excellent and good conditions predominated (p&gt;0.05) in terms of effectiveness of prophylactic treatment. Headache prevailed significantly in the group 2. Most of the patients did not present adverse events.</p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: Ondansetron and dexamethasone are useful for postoperative nausea and vomiting prophylaxis among patients who received major gynecological surgery, under general orotracheal anesthesia, a reason why it is considered a safe treatment, with mild adverse events and easy control.</p>