Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Worldwide, approximately 80-100 million surgical procedures are performed under general anaesthesia each year. Despite major advances in surgical techniques and the introduction of new anaesthetic agents with reduced emetogenicity, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (20-30%) has remained largely unchanged over the past few decades. Postoperative nausea and vomiting are of greatest concern after ambulatory surgical procedures because they may delay discharge and result in unanticipated hospital admission, thus increasing the cost of the procedure by a large margin. This review discusses the current status of the antiemetic therapy of postoperative nausea and vomiting.