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Preventing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

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MrMed Pharmacy
Preventing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

A subjectively unpleasant feeling linked to our conscious awareness of the need to throw up is nausea. The abrupt ejection of stomach contents from the mouth is known as vomiting or emesis.

The most common side effects patients experience post-surgery are nausea and vomiting. This can be greatly annoying and causes discomfort to the patients. 

This may include a delayed rate of recovery, leading to prolonged hospital stays, thereby increasing healthcare costs. About 20-30% of patients experience it within 24-48 hours post-surgery.

The likelihood of developing postoperative nausea and vomiting depends on the three primary factors:

  1. Patient-related factors [ sex, personal history, past medical history]
  2. Surgical factor [ type and intensity of surgery]
  3. Anesthetic factors [ type of anesthetic agent used]

Risk Factors

  • Female gender
  • Patients experienced previous episodes of PONV or motion sickness
  • Non-smoker
  • Delayed gastric emptying
  • Use of opioids in postoperative care
  • Prolonged operative times
  • Certain surgeries like gynecological surgeries, laparoscopic surgeries, etc
  • Use of opioids, nitrous oxide, and other volatile anesthetics

Understanding the mechanism behind PONV

Our brain consists of two regions: The vomiting center and the Chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ). Certain anesthetics during surgery, combined with the above-mentioned patient factors, can interfere with the brain's chemoreceptor trigger zone. The vomiting center now receives various signals from the CTZ, gastrointestinal tract, higher cortical zones, and the vestibular system, causing a nauseous feel and strong signals from these zones that pose a threat to the body's equilibrium and then act on abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and stomach to throw out causing vomiting. This cascade of actions in the vomiting center releases neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, dopamine, histamine, substance P, and serotonin. They carry out the process of completing vomiting reflux.

Managing and Preventing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

The approaches to managing PONV involve a combination of multiple approaches, starting from prophylactic therapy to managing it medically and following some conservative approaches to ensure the patient is completely getting rid of PONV.  

1. Prophylactic management:

In this approach, we follow measures to reduce the risk of developing PONV before the surgery itself by identifying the patient with risk factors and minimizing them. We can reduce the use of opioid analgesics and volatile gases and switch to other analgesics, such as regional or total intravenous anesthesia. Also, we can start prophylactic antiemetic therapy to reduce the risk of nausea and vomiting; some of the medications include, 

  • Serotonin antagonists- Ondansetron, Granisetron
  • Dopamine antagonist-  Droperidol 
  • Antihistamines- Dimenhydrinate, Promethazine
  • Corticosteroids- Dexamethasone.

Combinational medication therapy can also be initiated to control PONV; sometimes a combination of 5HT3 antagonists, namely Fosnetupitant and Palonosetron, is used along with dexamethasone for prevention of nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy.

2. Pharmacotherapy

Administering antiemetics involves identifying the underlying cause of PONV.

A multimodal approach with various classes of antiemetics is prescribed to ensure the effectiveness of treatment. Combinational therapy reduces the incidence of PONV by a further 30 percent. Usually, ondansetron can be considered a first-line option among other agents. Opioid-induced PONV is treated well with ondansetron. Cyclizine may be an alternative if ondansetron and prochlorperazine are not effective. In cases of patients experiencing delayed gastric emptying that causes PONV, it can be managed by giving metoclopramide. However, healthcare professionals must analyse and prescribe the choice of antiemetics and their combinational use.

3. Conservative management

  • Ensuring adequate IV fluid therapy is carried out.
  • Making sure the analgesia is sufficient.
  • Ensure a good oxygen supply to the patient.
  • Minimise the patient's movement to reduce dizziness, fainting.
  • Managing pain efficiently since poor control of pain after surgery can trigger PONV.

Conclusion

Postoperative nausea and vomiting can be the most uncomfortable response that a patient can experience after surgery. However, the advances in pharmacotherapy approaches can be implemented effectively by identifying patients' risk factors, eliminating the trigger points that lie behind them, and starting an appropriate therapeutic plan to alleviate nausea and vomiting.



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