• E Figueredo and L Canosa.
• Department of Anaesthesia, Torrecardenas Hospital, Almería, Spain.
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 1999 Aug 1;16(8):556-64.

AbstractThe post-operative anti-emetic efficacy of 4 and 8 mg of ondansetron in adult patients with and without a previous history of motion sickness (PHMS) was assessed by meta-analysis. MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for randomized placebo-controlled trials evaluating the anti-emetic effectiveness of ondansetron in a 24-h period. In the 49 studies found, a further selection was with respect to those studies that noted the patient's previous history of motion sickness. Twelve trials involving 2122 patients; 446 previous history of motion sickness(+) patients and 1676 previous history of motion sickness(-) patients met the selection criteria. The dose of 4 mg ondansetron was 71.5% more effective in previous history of motion sickness(+) than in previous history of motion sickness(-) patients. For the 8 mg dose, the odds ratios (95% CI) were: previous history of motion sickness(+) = 3.11 (1.40-6.93) and previous history of motion sickness(-) = 2.08 (1.35-3.21). The calculated number needed to treat was also more favourable in previous history of motion sickness(+) patients for both doses of ondansetron, demonstrating a higher effectiveness in this subgroup of patients.

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