Abstract:
Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most common and unpleasant
symptoms affecting patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia. It is also associated
with complications such as gastric aspiration, bleeding, dehydration, wound dehiscence and
delayed hospital discharge.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a sub hypnotic dose of propofol on the
occurrence and severity of PONV after open abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia.
Materials and methods: A series of 72 adult (age 18) ASA class I or II patients, scheduled for open
abdominal surgery were divided into a control group (n ¼ 36) and a propofol group (n ¼ 36). The propofol
group was given 30 mg of 1% propofol IV bolus after skin closure. All episodes and severity of PONV during
the first 24 h after anaesthesia were evaluated.
Results: The overall incidence of PONV was significantly lower in propofol group than the non-propofol
group during the first six postoperative hours (30.6% versus 66.7% respectively; p ¼ 0.002). There was a
significant reduction in number of patients needing rescue anti-emetic during the first six postoperative
hours in propofol group when compared with none-propofol group [5 (13.9%) and 15 (41.7%) respectively,
(p ¼ 0.009)]. There were no significant differences between the groups with regard to their
haemodynamic parameters and manifestations of respiratory depression.
Conclusion and recommendation: Administration of a sub hypnotic intravenous dose of propofol was
effective in reducing the incidence and severity of PONV, and the need for rescue anti-emetic during the
first six postoperative hours in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia.
We recommend the use of 30 mg propofol at the end of open abdominal surgery as part of multimodal
approach for PONV.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Surgical Associates Ltd. This is an open access
article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
