Preoperative anxiety and postoperative nausea and vomiting in children: is there an association?

We performed a cross-sectional study to explore a potential association between preoperative anxiety and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). The study enrolled 51 unpremedicated children 5-16 yr old undergoing outpatient surgery and standardized general anesthesia. Anxiety of children was assessed in the preoperative holding area and during the induction of anesthesia. The incidence of nausea and vomiting was documented in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and 24 h postoperatively (POD#1). In addition to univariate analysis, we used multivariate logistic regression models, wherein the dependent variable was the presence or absence of PONV and the independent variables included potential confounders such as age, sex, and perioperative opioid consumption. Univariate analysis showed that children who experienced nausea (32 +/- 5 vs 31 +/- 4, P = ns) or vomiting (32 +/- 4 vs 32 +/- 5, P = ns) in the PACU did not differ significantly in their anxiety before surgery. A multivariate model, in which the dependent variable was the presence or absence of vomiting at POD#1 and the independent variables included preoperative anxiety, age, sex, and opioid consumption, indicated that preoperative anxiety does not predict the occurrence of nausea and vomiting (P = ns). We conclude that children's anxiety in the preoperative holding area has no predictive value for the occurrence of PONV in the PACU or POD#1.

This study was performed to explore a possible association between children's anxiety before surgery and postoperative nausea and vomiting. We found that controlling for confounding variables, anxiety in the preoperative holding area has no predictive value for the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.