Dexmedetomidine prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting on patients during general anesthesia

BACKGROUND Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a frequent complication in postoperative period. The aim of this article was to evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on PONV. METHOD RevMan 5.3 software was applied for performing statistic analysis. Twenty-four trials with 2046 patients were included. RESULTS The PONV of the dexmedetomidine group was significantly lower compared with the placebo group (0.56, 95% CI: 0.46, 0.69). Subgroup analysis further confirmed the effect of dexmedetomidine (irrespective of administration mode) (P < 0.00001). Perioperative fentanyl consumption in dexmedetomidine group were also reduced significantly (P < 0.00001). Whereas, side effects such as bradycardia, hypotension increased in dexmedetomidine group (especially in loading dose mode and loading dose plus continuous infusion mode). CONCLUSIONS Dexmedetomidine administrated in continuous infusion mode has the advantage to prevent PONV as well as reduce side effects such as bradycardia and hypotension.