High intravenous fluid therapy prevents post-tonsillectomy nausea and vomiting

Post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV)
following surgical operations requiring general anesthesia are
common and distressing. The incidence of PONV may be as
high as 70% during the first 24 hrs of tonsillectomy.
Objective: This study determines the effects of intraoperative
well-hydration on postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Methods: 90 ASA I patients with age of 6-12 years scheduled
for tonsillectomy under general anesthesia randomly assigned
to receive either routine iv fluid plus intraoperative
well-hydration plus 4 ml/kg/h Ringer’s solution (well hydrated
group; n=45) and routine iv fluid requirements (control group;
n=45). All study preparations were administered in a doubleblinded
fashion.
Results: During the first postoperative day, the incidence of
nausea and vomiting were significantly lower in the wellhydrated
group as compared with control (p<0.05). There was
no significant differences between males and females regarding
the incidence of nausea and vomiting (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The present study showed that well-hydration
reduces the incidence of post tonsillectomy nausea and vomiting,
and high iv fluid therapy is a simple, effective, safe and
well-tolerated technique for prevention of postoperative nausea
and vomiting