Investigation of the effects of preoperative hydration on the postoperative nausea and vomiting

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after laparoscopic cholecystectomy operations still continue to be a serious problem. Intravenous fluid administration has been shown to reduce PONV. Some patients have higher risk for PONV described by APFEL score. In this study, our aim was to determine the effects of preoperative intravenous hydration on postoperative nausea and vomiting in high Apfel scored patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery.

This study is performed with 50 female patients who had APFEL score 3-4 after ethics committee approval and informed consent was taken from patients. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 (P1): propofol + preoperative hydration and group 2 (P2): propofol + no preoperative hydration.

When the total nausea VAS scores of groups P1 and P2 to which hydration was given or not given were compared, a statistically significant difference was detected at 8th and 12th hours (P = 0.001 and P = 0.041). It was observed that in group P1, which was given hydration, the nausea VAS score was lower. When the total number of patients who had nausea and vomiting in P1 and P2, more patients suffered nausea in P2 group.

Preoperative hydration may be effective in high Apfel scored patients to prevent postoperative nausea.