Få pasienter opplever postoperativ kvalme etter dagkirurgi med multimodal kvalmestillende behandling

Abstract

Background: Ambulatory surgery, where the patient is operated on and discharged the same day, accounts for about 60 per cent of all elective surgery in Norway. Postoperative nausea is a known problem after anaesthesia and surgery, and one that can cause discomfort and, at worst, complications for the patient. In an ambulatory surgery setting, postoperative nausea can also lead to a prolonged stay in the postanaesthesia care unit or a need for unplanned hospital admission, which results in increased costs. International studies show that 37–57 per cent of patients report postoperative nausea after arriving home from ambulatory surgery. Objective: To investigate what percentage of our ambulatory surgery patients experience postoperative nausea after discharge. We also wanted to investigate whether any patient groups are particularly vulnerable. Method: The study is a cross-sectional study. Telephone follow-up the day after surgery was used to collect data using a structured questionnaire with set response options. Results: A total of 2952 patients were included in the study and the response rate was 99 per cent. A general anaesthetic was administered to all patients in the form of total intravenous anaesthesia. Based on known risk factors, the majority of the sample had an increased risk of developing postoperative nausea. The study showed an incidence of postoperative nausea the day after the operation of 16 per cent, of which 14 per cent were slightly nauseous and only 2 per cent were very nauseous. Conclusion: The study shows that the incidence of postoperative nausea after ambulatory surgery can probably be reduced through systematic, multimodal antiemetic prophylactic treatment.