Ramosetron versus Palonosetron in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in laparoscopic surgeries

Abstract

Introduction: The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) following laparoscopic surgeries is very high without antiemetic prophylaxis. 5HT3 receptor antagonists are the most commonly used drug for prevention of PONV. Aims: To compare the effectiveness of intravenous (IV) palonosetron versus ramosetron in prevention of PONV during the 24 hour period in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgeries. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients enrolled for the study were randomly allotted into two groups of thirty each. Group I received 0.075 mg of IV palonosetron and Group II received 0.3 mg of IV ramosetron two minutes before induction of anaesthesia. Both the Groups were similar with respect to age, sex, duration and types of surgery and anaesthetic management. Patients were assessed for the incidence of nausea, retching, vomiting, need for rescue antiemetic and adverse effects at 0-2 hour and 2-24 hours interval following surgery. Students ‘t’ test and chi-square test were used for comparing the parameters. A p-value Results: There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to incidence of nausea, retching and vomiting. The incidence of nausea in group I at 0-2 hours was 3.3% and 6.7% in Group II without a statistically significant difference (p=0.5) and at 2-24 hour interval Group I had 3.3% while Group II had 10% incidence of vomiting with p=0.3 and statistically non-significant. There was no significant difference with respect to incidence of retching, vomiting, need for rescue antiemetic and adverse effects between the two groups. Conclusion: Both palonosetron and ramosetron are equally effective in prevention of PONV in laparoscopic surgeries. Keywords: Laparoscopic surgery, Nausea, Palonosetron, Ramosetron, Retching, Vomiting.