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Supplemental oxygen for prevention of nausea and vomiting after breast surgery
S Purhonen1, M Niskanen, M Wüstefeld
1Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, and Department of Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, PO Box 1777, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland. sinikka.purhonen@kuh.fi
Background:
Administration of supplemental oxygen 80% has been shown to halve the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). We tested the efficacy of supplemental oxygen 50% in decreasing the incidence of PONV after breast surgery.
Methods:
One hundred patients receiving standardized sevoflurane anaesthesia were randomly assigned to two groups: oxygen 30% administration (Group 30); and oxygen 50% administration (Group 50). Oxygen was administered during surgery and for 2 h from the end of surgery.
Results:
The incidence of PONV over 24 h after surgery showed no difference between the groups: 82% in Group 30 and 89% in Group 50. However, during the postoperative oxygen administration, eight patients vomited in Group 30, compared with none in Group 50 (P<0.05). After oxygen therapy ceased, there was no difference in the incidence of vomiting between the groups. Nausea and need for rescue antiemetics did not differ between the groups.
Conclusion:
The incidence of vomiting decreased during the short postoperative administration of supplemental oxygen 50%. However, perioperative oxygen 50% administration did not prevent PONV over the 24-h follow-up period in patients undergoing breast surgery performed under general anaesthesia.