POSTTONSILLECTOMY VOMITING - ONDANSETRON OR METOCLOPRAMIDE DURING PEDIATRIC TONSILLECTOMY - ARE 2 DOSES BETTER THAN ONE

This randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled, prospective study compared the anti-emetic efficacy of one preoperative dose of metoclo pramide 0.25 mg . kg(-1) intravenously or ondansetron 0.15 mg . kg(-1) intravenously with two doses of the same drugs (second dose administe red one h postoperatively) in 200 preadolescent children undergoing to nsillectomy with either isoflurane or propofol anaesthesia. The incide nce of posttonsillectomy vomiting was significantly reduced (P < 0.005 ) by two doses of either metoclopramide or ondansetron (18% and 8%, re spectively) compared with placebo (50%). No difference in posttonsille ctomy vomiting exists between the children who received isoflurane and those who received a propofol infusion. Our results suggest that two doses of metoclopramide 0.25 mg . kg(-1) int ravenously, like two dose s of ondansetron 0.15 mg . kg(-1), are effective in reducing vomiting after tonsillectomy in children who have received either isoflurane or propofol anaesthesia.