ISSN:
1460-9592
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Methods: One hundred and thirty-one healthy children, aged 31–152 months, undergoing strabismus surgery under general anaesthesia, were randomly allocated to one of four groups: group A received 0.04 mg·kg−1 (≡ 1 mg·m−2) of ondansetron, group B 0.1 mg·kg−1 (≡ 2.5 mg·m−2), group C 0.2 mg·kg−1 (≡ 5 mg·m−2) and group D placebo, given intravenously following induction of anaesthesia. Morphine 0.15 mg·kg−1 was given intravenously, intraoperatively, to provide postoperative analgesia. Hourly records of emetic episodes were made for 24 h. Results: A considerably higher proportion of children suffered emesis in the placebo group compared to the active treatment groups taken together, during the first 8 h of postoperative care (76% vs. 45%, P=0.002). During the first 8 h, only 25% of those in treatment group C suffered emesis, the number-needed-to-treat was 3. There was a statistically significant decrease in the chance of vomiting with increasing dose of ondansetron (P=0.03). By 24 h, the difference in the rate of emesis was less marked but still statistically significant (90% vs. 69%, P=0.03). Conclusions: Overall, children given ondansetron had less than one-half the risk of vomiting compared to those given placebo (hazard ratio 0.46, 95% confidence interval 0.29–0.74). The mean number of emetic episodes declined from 2.73 in the placebo group to 1.92 in treatment group C. There was no difference in the incidence of side-effects between groups.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1460-9592.2001.00631.x
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