Patient-controlled analgesia and postoperative nausea and vomiting: efficacy of a continuous infusion of ondansetron

Abstract

A continuous infusion of ondansetron was compared with a placebo infusion in 80 patients undergoing major breast reconstructive surgery. All patients received a standard anaesthetic and a bolus dose of ondansetron after induction. They were then randomly allocated to receive an intravenous infusion of ondansetron or a placebo infusion for 24 h in a double-blind fashion. Postoperative analgesia was provided by patient-controlled subcutaneous diamorphine. In the ondansetron group, the severity of nausea, measured by a 10-point verbal rating scale, was reduced (p = 0.01) and fewer patients stated at postoperative interview that nausea and vomiting was a problem (p = 0.01).