The effect of paracetamol on postoperative nausea and vomiting during the first 24 h after strabismus surgery: a prospective, randomised, double-blind study

Context Strabismus surgery is one of the most common ophthalmic surgical procedures in children and is associated with significant postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Objective We evaluated the effect of intravenous paracetamol on PONV in children after strabismus surgery. Design Prospective, placebo-controlled, randomised double-blind study. Setting University hospital. Patients Ninety children, between 2 and 14 years scheduled for strabismus surgery, were recruited. Eighty-six completed the study. Interventions After induction of anaesthesia, intravenous dexamethasone 0.1 mg kg(-1) was administered to all. The patients were enrolled to receive either intravenous physiological saline (group S) or paracetamol 15 mg kg(-1) (group P). Main outcome measure Incidence of PONV in the first 24 h postoperatively. Results General and clinical characteristics of the children were similar in both groups. PONV during the first 24 h was significantly higher in group S in comparison with group P (group S vs. group P, 33 vs. 14.6%, respectively, P = 0.038 for nausea; 24.4 vs. 7.3%, respectively, P = 0.030 for vomiting). The number of analgesic administrations during the first 24 h was higher in group S compared with group P (1.31 +/- 0.85 and 0.73 +/- 0.6, respectively, P = 0.001). The repeat number of postoperative analgesic administrations was significantly different between groups during the first 24 h (P = 0.005), but during 24-48 h was not significant. Conclusion Intraoperative administration of intravenous paracetamol decreases the incidence of PONV during the first 24 h in children after strabismus surgery. Eur J Anaesthesiol 2011;28:836-841