A comparison of apomorphine and stomach tubes for emptying the stomach before general anaesthesia in obstetrics

Abstract

A comparison has been made between two methods of emptying the stomach before general anaesthesia in obstetric patients: aspiration by a stomach tube, and apomorphine-induced vomiting. It was found that most patients preferred apomorphine to the stomach tube. During the operation stomach contents were aspirated in both groups. The mean volumes aspirated were not significantly different. It would appear that neither method guarantees an empty stomach at induction and failure to induce vomiting with apomorphine does not signify that the stomach is empty. Patients, undergoing elective operations, starved for 6 hours and who were not subjected to either method of gastric emptying were found to have significant quantities of stomach contents during anaesthesia. There was no evidence that apomorphine had a deleterious effect on the Apgar scores of the infants at birth.