Transdermal hyoscine with patient-controlled analgesia

Transdermal hyoscine (Scopoderm TTS CIBA) was compared with placebo in 67 patients receiving postoperative analgesia via a patient-controlled analgesia system. All patients underwent an abdominal hysterectomy and had a standard anaesthetic. They were followed up in recovery and daily for 3 days postoperatively. Fewer patients in the hyoscine group suffered emetic sequelae in recovery and on the third postoperative day (p less than 0.05). The hyoscine group received half the number of supplementary antiemetic doses compared to placebo. However, despite transdermal hyoscine there was still a high (78%) incidence of nausea and vomiting. The only significant (p less than 0.05) increase in side effects attributable to hyoscine was a higher reported incidence of visual disturbance on the second day.