Tropisetron or droperidol in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting - A comparative, randomised, double-blind study in women undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: Women undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy are susceptible t o postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). This study was undertaken to ev aluate the efficacy of tropisetron or droperidol for preventing PONV after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: In a prospective, randomised, double-blind trial, 120 female patie nts received either tropisetron 5 mg or droperidol 1.25 mg intravenously at the beginning of surgery. A standard general anaesthetic technique and pos toperative analgesia were used. Nausea, emetic episodes and the need for re scue medication were recorded for 24 h postoperatively. Results: Nausea was experienced by 55% of the patients in the tropisetron g roup and by 62% in the droperidol group (ns). The incidence of emetic episo des was 20% and 52% (P = 0.001) in the two groups, respectively. Rescue ant iemetic medication was needed in 42% and 50% (ns) of the patients, respecti vely. Patients in the droperidol group were more drowsy in comparison with patients in the tropisetron group, mean sedation score being 6.7 vs 5.7, re spectively (P = 0.023). No difference in other side-effects was observed. Conclusion: Tropisetron, when compared with droperidol, had no better effic acy on the prevention of postoperative nausea but resulted in a significant ly lower incidence of vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.