Nausea and vomiting after termination of pregnancy as day surgery cases: comparison of 3 different doses of droperidol and metoclopramide as anti-emetic prophylaxis

Abstract

Frequency of nausea and vomiting following day case termination of pregnancy was found to be rather high (42%) without anti-emetic prophylaxis. Droperidol in doses of 2.5 mg, 1.25 mg and 0.25 mg were found to be equally effective as prophylactic anti-emetic, but not metoclopramide 10 mg. This study confirms that low dose droperidol 0.25 mg is effective as a prophylactic anti-emetic, without any delay in immediate recovery and hence suitable for day surgery cases.

PIP: 325 outpatients at Alexandra Hospital in Singapore received intravenously either 2.5 mg droperidol, 1.25 mg droperidol, 0.25 mg droperidol, 10 mg metoclopramide, or a placebo before undergoing surgical abortion. Nursing staff assessed their condition 4-6 hours postoperatively. 42.3% of the women in the untreated group experienced nausea and vomiting after the operation compared to 25.6% for women who received 0.25 mg droperidol (p.05), 23.7% for those who received 1.25 mg droperidol (p.05), and 15.6% for those who received 2.5 mg (p.01). Yet women who received 2.5 mg droperidol were more likely to require sedation 2 hours postoperatively than the other groups and the untreated group (p.05). Even though the percentage of women who experienced nausea and vomiting and received 10 mg metoclopramide was less (37.9%) than those who received the placebo, the difference was not significant. In another study, 1 mg of droperidol slowed perceptual speed and ambulatory recovery. Since 0.25 mg of droperidol resulted in faster recovery in this study and other studies, it was the most effective prophylactic antiemetic.