Author: Akhmetova Aigerim
Editor: Yeskendirbek Ualikhan
Postoperative nausea and vomiting are common side effects of anesthesia and surgery. These outcomes are a major cause of patient dissatisfaction and can lead to longer hospital stays and higher treatment costs, along with serious complications. Many antiemetic drugs are available for prevention. They have different mechanisms of action and side effects, but it is still unclear which drugs are most effective with the least side effects.
In order to identify the most effective drugs with the least side effects, an extensive meta-analysis of all known antiemetic drugs was carried out by a group of scientists (from the University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany). Included were 585 studies that were published between 1965 and 2017. They were mainly held in Asia, Europe and North America. This review compared 44 individual drugs and 51 drug combinations.
Extensive meta-analysis found high confidence evidence that five separate drugs (aprepitant, ramosetron, granisetron, dexamethasone, and ondansetron) reduce vomiting, and moderate evidence that two other separate drugs (fosaprepitant and droperidol) appear to reduce vomiting compared to placebo. Thus, four of the six classes of substances (5-HT₃ receptor antagonists, D₂ receptor antagonists, NK₁ receptor antagonists, and corticosteroids) have been represented by at least one drug with an important advantage in preventing vomiting.
Source: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012859.pub2/full
