Prophylactic Effect of Dexamethasone on Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Undergoing Tympanomastoid Surgery

Postoperative nausea and vomiting is an unpleasant, distressing, and exhausting experience for patient. This is more common and severe in tympanomastoid surgery. The role of dexamethasone prevention of this complication is unclear and during recent years much attention has been paid to it. In order to evaluate prophylactic effect of dexamethasone on postoperative nausea and vomiting after mastoidectomy, a clinical trial study was performed. In this study eightytwo patients were selected. The patients were randomly divided in two groups, 41 as case group and 41as control group. Both groups were undergone mastoidectomy surgery. Case group received dexamethasone in intravenous route after intubations. Comparison of nausea and vomiting was done in two groups. Incidence of those complications decreased from 61% in control group to 36.6% in case group respectively (p<0.02). Also the number of nausea and vomiting decreases form 1.22±1.4 to 54±1.1 (P<0.02) and complete response was 34.1% ver. 14.6 (P<0.007) .Therefore we recommend use of dexamethasone for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting just before operation in mastoidectomy.