British Journal of Anaesthesia, 1966, Vol. 38, No. 5 380-385
© 1966 The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia
research-article |
EFFICACY OF THIETHYLPERAZINE AS A RECOVERY ROOM ANTI-EMETIC
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine and University Hospital U.S.A.
Of approximately 3,500 recovery room patients, 5 per cent vomited one or more times. Either thiethylperazine or placebo was then administered in double-blind style, and both agents were approximately 60 per cent successful after one injection. However, 56 per cent of a similar series of (untreated) recovery room patients vomited only once. Of those vomiting twice, 30 per cent were successfully treated, a significantly higher success rate resulting from the use of thiethylperazine. Only 4 per cent of those vomiting three times stopped after drug administration. Since almost two-thirds of the victims vomited once only and one-fourth persisted despite continued therapy, only 15 per cent of all recovery room vomiters (1 per cent of all patients entering the recovery room) demonstrated the superiority of the active agent over saline. It is suggested that active therapy be delayed in recovery room vomiting until the second vomiting incident, and that for those who persist a physiologic aberration be sought and that either this be corrected or a search for a more potent anti-emetic be initiated.