Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting After Orthopaedic Surgery: Prevalence and Associated Factors

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common complication after surgery and can lead to additional complications and delayed discharge. This descriptive, cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of PONV and its associated factors in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery. The study was conducted between November 2020 and July 2021 with 149 patients in a public hospital in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. In the first 48 hours after surgery, 40.9% of the patients had nausea and 17.4% had vomiting. Gender, age, medical diagnosis, surgical procedure, operative time, postoperative opioid use, and anxiety were identified as significant risk factors for PONV after orthopaedic surgery (p < .05). These factors should be considered during postoperative follow-up, and patients who are older, female, and have prolonged operative time or anxiety should be monitored more closely for PONV.