Predictors of nausea and vomiting risk factors and its relation to anesthesia

Abstract

This is the first study to investigate risk factors for PONV after xenon-based anesthesia. While the incidence of PONV was significantly lower than predicted by Apfel Score, female sex, young age, and long duration of anesthesia predicted PONV after xenon-based anesthesia. A history of PONV or non-smoking status failed to reach statistical significance, probably because of lower power associated with smaller effect size. The lack of efficacy of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists is reasonable because xenon antagonizes these receptors itself, yet needs to be interpreted carefully and warrants confirmation by a sufficiently powered randomized controlled study.