[Ondansetron in the prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting in ambulatory cataract surgery].

OBJECTIVE

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are potentially serious complications of ophthalmic surgery. We assess the efficacy of ondansetron for antiemetic prophylaxis in outpatient unilateral cataract surgery under retrobulbar blockade.

METHODS

Cohort study of patients undergoing unilateral cataract surgery between January 1996 and March 1997. The main predictive variable was intravenous administration of 4 mg of ondansetron 30 min before surgery and the main effect variable was the presence of PONV during the first 24 h after surgery. The incidence of PONV was calculated and an analysis of statistical significance was performed using a Mantel-Haenszel chi 2 test, describing the magnitude of association between relative risk and the corresponding confidence interval (95% CI).

RESULTS

One hundred sixty-two patients were enrolled. Eighty-two patients received ondansetron and 80 did not. The two groups were similar with respect to control variables. PONV occurred in 23 patients (14.2%): in 16 (20%) who did not receive ondansetron and in 7 (8.2%) who did (p < 0.05). The relative risk of patients who received ondansetron was 0.42 (95% CI: 0.19-0.98) in comparison with those who did not.

CONCLUSIONS

We found a high incidence of PONV, although the administration of ondansetron reduced PONV significantly.