Incidence of Postoperative Vomiting and Laryngospasm in Pediatric Anesthesia Using Two Methods: Controlled Ventilation and Spontaneous Respiration

Background: Laryngospasm and postoperative vomiting are serious complications after surgery involving pediatric anesthesia, and these complications may cause morbidity. Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the incidences of laryngospasm and vomiting between two groups of children treated with anesthesia. The patients were managed by either controlled ventilation or spontaneous respiration. Patients and Methods: This prospective clinical study was conducted with 200 children who had underwent elective infraumbilical surgery. The patients were divided to two groups of one-hundred cases, including the control ventilation (CV) and spontaneous respiration (SR) groups. Anesthesia induction and maintenance were the same in all patients. However, in the CV group, atracurium was used as a muscle relaxant to facilitate intubation and surgery. Results: The incidences of postoperative vomiting, laryngospasm, and excessive secretions were significantly higher in the CV group than the SR group (P = 0.001, 0.02 and 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the incidences of postoperative vomiting and laryngospasm are significantly higher in patients receiving anesthesia with muscle relaxants and controlled ventilation.