Dose Ginger Have Preventative Effects on PONV-Related Eye Surgery? A Clinical Trial

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is considered a common complication of anesthesia, which, particularly in eye surgery, may exert pressure on stitches and open or leak the surgical wound, leading to bleeding.

We aimed to study the effect of ginger on PONV and changes in vital signs after eye surgery.

In this triple-blind randomized controlled trial, 120 candidate patients for eye surgery were divided into group A (n = 40) and group B (n = 40). Patients in group A received the capsules of ginger 1 g while patients in group B received a placebo one hour before the procedure with 30 mL water. The incidence of nausea and the frequency of vomiting were evaluated at 0, 15, 30 minutes, and 2 hours after the operation. Also, the vital signs of the participants were recorded at certain times.

The results demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the frequency of nausea between group A and group B (P < 0.05). The severity of nausea was lower in group A than in group B immediately and 2 hours after recovery (P < 0.05). The incidence of vomiting was significantly lower in group A than in group B (P < 0.05). The vital signs were not significantly different between group A and group B (P > 0.05).

Ginger was effective in the prevention of PONV after eye surgery but had no impact on vital signs. Hence, ginger is proposed to use as a low-cost, prophylactic measure for PONV reduction.