Drug Safety
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Review Comparative Study
Risks and benefits of drugs used in the management of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is an age-old problem; more so since the blooming of ambulatory or day surgery centres within the last 2 decades. The aetiology of PONV is multifactorial. The incidence of PONV is usually higher in women and children than in men. ⋯ However, it is almost impossible to pick one agent or one combination as the therapy of choice using the present available data. A patient history of a favourable response to a previously used antiemetic would make that drug the agent of choice. So far, the newcomers, the 5HT3 antagonists, have fewer reported adverse effects.