August 9, 2021Open Access
Benefits and Risks of Dexamethasone in Noncardiac Surgery
Key Result
Dexamethasone is an effective antiemetic that improves patient quality of recovery without increasing the risk of surgical site infection in noncardiac surgery.
Structured PICO
Does dexamethasone improve quality of recovery and prevent emesis without increasing surgical site infection risk in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery?
P
Population
Patients undergoing noncardiac surgery
I
Intervention
Dexamethasone
O
Outcome
Antiemetic efficacy, quality of recovery, and surgical site infection risk
Dexamethasone is an effective antiemetic that improves recovery quality without increasing surgical site infection risk in noncardiac surgery, supporting its wider perioperative use.
Main Result
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
Abstract
In Brief Dexamethasone is an effective antiemetic and improves patient quality of recovery. Meta-analyses and a recent large trial found no increase in risk of surgical site infection. Dexamethasone should be more widely used in perioperative practice.