Scot Med J
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The number of patients and procedures considered suitable for day-case anaesthesia and surgery continues to grow and it is hoped that 50-60% of all operations in the UK will eventually be performed on a day-patient basis. However, minor but troublesome post-operative side effects remain common. We have examined the incidence of the most common causes of minor morbidity, namely headache, nausea/vomiting and pain occurring after a wide variety of day-case surgical and diagnostic procedures. ⋯ A total of 92 patients (17%) would have preferred treatment as an in-patient. Analysis of the anaesthetic drugs and techniques suggested that the commonly used anti-emetics droperidol and metoclopramide had little effect on the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Intubation was associated with a significantly higher incidence of minor morbidity although this may be related to surgical factors.