Propofol: A Superior Strategy for PONV

Postoperative nausea and vomiting is a significant undesirable after-effect of surgery and anesthesia that leads to delays in patient recovery and discharge. Although there are several patient-related, surgery-specific and anesthetic factors that influence the development of PONV, it is well known that volatile anesthetics tend to promote nausea and propofol mitigates it. Sprung and colleagues performed a retrospective analysis on over forty-seven thousand patients undergoing general inhalational anesthesia with, and without a concomitant propofol infusion. Their findings suggest that when a propofol infusion is administered alongside inhalational anesthesia, a reduction in the use of antiemetics is seen regardless of the intensity of prophylaxis. A maximal benefit to this end is seen at an infusion rate of 100 mcg/kg/min. It is notable that the use of propofol in this manner did not lead to extended recovery times. A visual summary of this article is presented in this infographic, though the reader is strongly encouraged to review the cited article for a more thorough understanding of the illustrated concepts.