Postdischarge Nausea and Vomiting Remains Frequent After Le Fort I Osteotomy Despite Implementation of a Multimodal Antiemetic Protocol Effective in Reducing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Purpose—To assess the prevalence of postdischarge nausea and vomiting (PDNV) after Le Fort I osteotomy with and without the use of a multimodal antiemetic protocol shown to decrease postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Materials and Methods—Consecutive patients undergoing Le Fort I osteotomy with or without additional procedures at a single academic institution formed the intervention cohort for an institutional review board–approved prospective clinical trial with a retrospective comparison group. The intervention cohort was managed with a multimodal antiemetic protocol. The comparison group consisted of consecutive patients who underwent similar surgical procedures at the same institution before protocol implementation. All patients were asked to complete a postdischarge diary documenting the occurrence of nausea and vomiting. Those who completed the diaries were included in this analysis. Data were analyzed with the Fisher exact test and the Wilcoxon rank sum test. A P value less than .05 was considered significant. Results—Diaries were completed by 85% of patients in the intervention group (79 of 93) and 75% of patients in the comparison group (103 of 137). Patients in the intervention (n = 79) and comparison (n = 103) groups were similar in the proportion of patients with validated risk factors for PDNV, including female gender, history of PONV, age younger than 50 years, opioid use in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), and nausea in the PACU (P = .37). The prevalence of PDNV was unaffected by the antiemetic protocol. After discharge, nausea was reported by 72% of patients in the intervention group and 60% of patients in the comparison group (P = .13) and vomiting was reported by 22% of patients in the intervention group and 29% of patients in the comparison group (P = .40). Conclusion—Modalities that successfully address PONV after Le Fort I osteotomy might fail to affect PDNV, which is prevalent in this population. Future investigation will focus on methods to minimize PDNV

Multimodal Protocol Reduces Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Undergoing Le Fort I Osteotomy

To assess the impact of a multimodal antiemetic protocol on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after LeFort I osteotomy

Multimodal Protocol Reduces Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Undergoing Le Fort I Osteotomy

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of a multimodal antiemetic protocol on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after LeFort I osteotomy. METHODS: Consecutive subjects undergoing LeFort I osteotomy with or without additional procedures at a single academic institution were recruited as the intervention cohort for an IRB-approved prospective clinical trial with a retrospective comparison group. The intervention cohort was managed with a multimodal antiemetic protocol including total intravenous anesthesia; prophylactic ondansetron, steroids, scopolamine, and droperidol; gastric decompression at surgery end; opioid-sparing analgesia; avoidance of morphine and codeine; prokinetic erythromycin; and minimum 25 mL/kg fluids. The comparison group consisted of consecutive subjects from a larger study who underwent similar surgical procedures prior to protocol implementation. Data including occurrence of PONV were extracted from medical records. Data were analyzed bivariately with Fisher’s Exact and Wilcoxon Rank Sum Tests. Logistic regression was used to compare the likelihood of nausea and vomiting in the two cohorts controlling for demographic and surgery characteristics. P<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The intervention (n=93) and comparison (n=137) groups were similar in terms of gender (58% and 65% female, P=0.29), race (72% and 71% Caucasian, P=0.85), age (median 19 and 20 years old, P=0.75), proportion of subjects with known risk factors for PONV (P=0.34), percentage undergoing bimaxillary surgery (60% for both groups), and percentage for whom surgery time was over 180 minutes (63% versus 59%, P=0.51). Prevalence of PON was significantly lower in the intervention group than the comparison group (24% versus 70%, P<0.0001). Prevalence of POV was likewise significantly lower in the intervention group (11% versus 28%, P=0.0013). The likelihood that subjects in the comparison group would experience nausea was 8.9 and vomiting 3.7 times higher than in the intervention group. CONCLUSION: This multimodal protocol was associated with substantially decreased prevalence of PONV in subjects undergoing LeFort I osteotomy