A study presented at the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists seeks to quell a major patient fear when entering the surgical suite - the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV).
As previous studies found that the administration of oral carbohydrate and intravenous fluids before surgery resulted in decreased PONV following surgery, Susan Dabu-Bondoc, M.D., Nalini Vadivelu, M.D., Jessica L. Feinleib, M.D., and colleagues from the Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital designed a study to determine if the rate of PONV can also be decreased by the postoperative administration of dextrose, a form of glucose.
"As one of the most common postoperative complications, PONV remains one of the main causes of decreased patient satisfaction following surgery," said Dr. Dabu-Bondoc. "Along with discomfort, the adverse effects of PONV can be extensive and may include aspiration, wound suture opening, prolonged hospital stays, unanticipated admission after outpatient surgery and delayed return of a patient's ability to function in daily activities."
To test the effect of postoperative dextrose administration, researchers conducted a double-blind randomized placebo -controlled trial of 56 non-diabetic, healthy ambulatory surgery patients scheduled for gynecologic laparoscopic and hysteroscopic procedures.
Consenting patients were randomized into two equal groups- a treatment group which received dextrose 5 percent in a ringer's lactate solution (D5 LR) and a control group that received plain ringer's lactate solution. Both were administered immediately after surgery and continued as patients were admitted to the postoperative care unit (PACU). All patients underwent a sevoflurane-vecuronium general anesthesia and received one dose of an antiemetic, a drug effective against nausea and vomiting 30 minutes before the end of anesthesia.