Incidence of nausea and vomiting in children after strabismus surgery following desflurane anaesthesia

In a prospective, randomized parallel study 60 ASA I-III children aged 1-17 years, scheduled for elective strabismus surgery, were anaesthetized with desflurane without prophylactic antiemetic medication. The objective of the study was to determine the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting after general anaesthesia with desflurane. To decide whether nitrous oxide further influences these symptoms, the patients were randomly assigned to t wo groups of 30 patients each. One group received desflurane in oxygen/air and a second group received desflurane in oxygen/nitrous oxide. In all chil dren, after intravenous induction and tracheal intubation, anaesthesia was administered as minimal flow anaesthesia with oxygen and nitrous oxide or a ir according to the random plan. The patients were observed for 48 postoper ative hours until their discharge from the ward. The overall incidence of n ausea was found to be 37%, and vomiting was seen in 32% of all patients. No statistical correlation was found between the incidence of postoperative e mesis and the administration of nitrous oxide or the duration of general an aesthesia. Instead, the incidence of vomiting was 2.5-fold higher when surg ery was performed on both eyes compared with one eye. The relatively low in cidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, as well as the quick recovery from anaesthesia, permitting an early discharge from the postoperative car e unit to the ward, show desflurane to be a suitable volatile anaesthetic i n strabismus surgery in children.