Revista brasileira de anestesiologia
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Rev Bras Anestesiol · Sep 2008
Incidence and prophylaxis of nausea and vomiting in post-anesthetic recovery in a tertiary teaching hospital.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is frequent and potentially a severe complication that increases the length of anesthetic recovery and causes patient dissatisfaction. The evaluation of the risk of PONV and institution of prophylactic measures aiming the well-being of patients and cost reduction are frequent in the medical literature. This observational study evaluated the incidence, risk factors, and adjustment and effectivity of the prophylaxis of PONV in the recovery room of a tertiary teaching school. ⋯ The concerns of the anesthesiologists of the institution with PONV were evident. However, the absence of correlation between risk and prophylaxis suggests an empirical and ineffective procedure. Factors that were not evaluated were suggested by the absence between PONV and the use of antiemetic drugs. The orientation for anesthesiologists regarding more effective prophylactic measures can improve care of the population assisted.