Droperidol with patient-controlled analgesia

Abstract

Abstract The addition of droperidol 5mg to the first 50ml of morphine 1mg/ml was compared with morphine alone in 60 patients receiving postoperative analgesia via a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system. All patients underwent an abdominal hysterectomy and had a standard anaesthetic which included 2.5mg of droperidol. They were followed up daily for three days postoperatively. The PCA with additional droperidol group received half the number of supplementary antiemetic doses (P<0.05). There was no difference in the incidence of emetic sequelae or reported side effects. Prophylactic droperidol with PCA morphine reduces the need for further intramuscular antiemetic treatment.