European journal of anaesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Tropisetron or ondansetron compared with placebo for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study, the efficacy of prophylactic tropisetron (2 mg) or ondansetron (4 mg) for the prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting after abdominal or non-abdominal surgery with general balanced anaesthesia was studied in 842 ASA I-III patients. In patients undergoing abdominal surgery, ondansetron and tropisetron reduced the frequency of emetic episodes compared with the placebo (29%, 30% vs. 42% respectively). ⋯ However, neither tropisetron nor ondansetron was significantly different from the placebo in this patient subgroup. In conclusion, for patients at increased risk of post-operative nausea and vomiting, a prophylactic therapy at the lowest effective dose with tropisetron or ondansetron may be useful.