Introduction: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is an unpleasant sensation often described as worse than postoperative pain. Various drugs, including scopolamine, gabapentin, dexamethasone, metoclopramide, promethazine, haloperidol, and serotonin receptor antagonists, have been used for prophylaxis of PONV, but none has been 100% efficacious. We hereby try to compare the effects of palonosetron and dexamethasone on the frequency of PONV. Aims and objectives: The aim of our study was to compare the frequency of PONV with palonosetron and dexamethasone in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery under general anesthesia. Material and methods: In this prospective, randomized, double-blind study, 50 patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomized into two groups receiving 8 mg dexamethasone or 0.075 mg palonosetron. The frequency of PONV in the two groups was compared. Results: Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA).The patients in the two groups were comparable in terms of mean age, body mass index, and gender distribution. At 4, 8, and 12 hours, the incidence of PONV was significantly less in patients receiving palonosetron than those receiving dexamethasone (p = 0.007, 0.001, 0.001, respectively).
Conclusion:We can conclude from the present study that 0.075 mg palonosetron is more effective than 8 mg dexamethasone to reduce the incidence of PONV after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.