Özmen, Özgür; Bingöl, Fatih; Arslan, Zakir; Özel Bİngöl, Buket

This prospective study investigated the effects of dexamethasone and low-dose propofol infusion on postoperative nausea and vomiting in 90 patients undergoing tympanoplasty. The dexamethasone group (Group D) received 8 mg dexamethasone and the control group (Group C) 2 ml saline 15 min before the end of surgery, while the propofol group (Group P) received ıntrave-nous propofol infusion at a dose of 20 mcg/kg/min throughout surgery following induction of anaesthesia. Incidence rates and severity of nausea-vomiting and antiemetic requirements were recorded throughout the first postoperative 24 hours. Between hours 0 and 2, any incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting was not observed in 23 (76.7%) patients in Group P, 17 (56.7%) in Group D and 8 (26.7%) in Group C. Differences were observed between the groups in hours 0-2 and 2-8 in terms of verbal descriptive scale values for postoperative nausea and vomiting (p<0.01 and p=0.004, respectively). Total incidence rates of postoperative nausea and vomiting at hours 2-8 h were 10.0% (n=3) in Group P, 36.7% (n=11) in Group D and 53.3% (n=16) in Group C, the difference being statistically significant in favour of Group P (p=0.032). At 0-24. hrs, the number of patients vomiting, despite treatment, were lower in Groups P and D (n=4, 13.3% and n=5, 16.7%, respectively) compared to Group C (n=14, 46.7%) (p=0.005). Antiemetic use was higher in Group C than in Groups D and P (p=0.001). Intraoperative low-dose propofol infusion is as effective as dexamethasone in reducing the incidence and severity of postoperative nausea and vomiting, as well as reducing post-tympanoplasty antiemetic requirements.