Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Female Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery with Double Prophylactic Therapy

Purpose Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a major problem after surgery. This study aimed to demonstrate the incidence of PONV and the potential associated factors in female patients undergoing laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery against the background of double prophylactic therapy. Methods Our retrospective study recruited 109 female patients undergoing laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery with double prophylactic therapy, combining palonosetron with dexamethasone, from October 2020 to March 2021, at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. Patient characteristics and perioperative management factors were included in univariate and multivariate analyses to identify factors influencing PONV. Results Four patients lacked complete records, and of the 105 patients included in the final analysis, 53 (50.5%) patients developed PONV. Two influencing factors for PONV were identified: a history of chemotherapy (odds ratio [OR] 0.325, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.123-0.856; p =0.023) and dosage of hydromorphone >= 0.02mg/kg (OR 2.857, 95% CI 1.247-6.550; p =0.013). The performance of the multivariate logistic regression was evaluated by analyzing receiver operating characteristic curves, resulting in an area under the curve value of 0.673. Conclusion The incidence of PONV remains high in female patients undergoing laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery, even with double prophylactic therapy. A dosage of hydromorphone >= 0.02mg/kg may increase risk of PONV, whereas a history of chemotherapy might be a protective factor.