ONDANSETRON, DROPERIDOL AND THEIR COMBINATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF POSTOPERATIVE VOMITING IN CHILDREN

In this study the antiemetic effects of droperidol, ondansetron and th eir combination were evaluated in 160 ASA Grade I and II children unde rgoing surgery for strabismus, who were randomly assigned to one of fo ur groups: Group D received droperidol 75 mu g kg(-1), group O ondanse tron 0.1 mg kg(-1), group D + O received both droperidol 75 mu g kg(-1 ) and ondansetron 0.1 mg kg(-1), and group N NaCl as placebo. Emesis w ithin the first 24 h occurred in 95.0% of the children with placebo me dication, compared with 32.5% (D), 40.0% (O) and 45.0% (D+O) in the gr oups with antiemetic prophylaxis. The differences between group N and all other groups were significant (P<0.001). However, there were no st atistically significant differences between the groups D, O and D + O. It is concluded that droperidol (75 mu g kg(-1)) and ondansetron (0.1 mg kg(-1)) both significantly reduce PONV in children undergoing surg ery for strabismus. Neither ondansetron, nor the combination D + O wer e superior to droperidol alone.