Combination of oral gabapentin and i.v. ondansetron for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in females after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery: a prospective and comparative study

Neeraj Kumar; Shashi Kant; Omprakash Sanjeev; Ajit Gupta; Umesh Kumar Bhadani; Manish Kumar

Volume : VII, Issue : VI, June - 2017

Combination of oral gabapentin and i.v. ondansetron for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in females after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery: a prospective and comparative study

Neeraj Kumar, Shashi Kant, Omprakash Sanjeev, Ajit Gupta, Umesh Kumar Bhadani, Manish Kumar

Abstract :

Introduction As a drug originally introduced for its anticonvulsant effects, gabapentin has been recently shown to be effective in the treatment of nausea and vomiting in various clinical settings. This study compared the antiemetic efficacy of oral gabapentin and gabapentin plus ondansetron in female patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. Material and Methods One hundred female patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery under general anaesthesia were allocated randomly into two groups: group G received 300 mg oral gabapentin 1 h before anaesthesia as monotherapy and group GO received a combination of 300 mg oral gabapentin 1 h before anesthesia and 4 mg intravenous ondansetron at the end of surgery. Postoperative nausea, retching, vomiting, rescue antiemetic drug use, pain, rescue analgesic requirements and adverse effects were assessed at 0–2, 2–24 and 24–48 h after surgery. Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was defined as the presence of nausea, retching or vomiting. Results The incidence of complete response (no PONV and no rescue antiemetics up to 48 h postoperatively) was significantly higher in group G0 (26/40, 65%) than group G (16/40, 40%;). There were no significant between–group differences in the incidence of emetic episodes, use of rescue antiemetics, severe emesis, use of rescue analgesics or any adverse effects. Postoperative pain scores were also similar among groups. Conclusions The combination with gabapentin and ondansetron is superior to either drug alone for prevention of PONV after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery.