Comparison of Dexamethasone-Denenhydraminate and Dexamethasone-Ondansetron in Preventing Post-Operative Nausea and Vomiting after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Introduction: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most common problems after implementation of general anesthesia. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy for the treatment of cholelithiasis is popular amongst surgeons as well as patients due to its associated advantages, which includes a short hospital stay. However high incidences of PONV have been reported after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Objective: To compare the efficacy of combination dexamethasone-dimtenhydrinate with dexa-methasone-ondansetron in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Study design: Randomized controlled trial Settings: Department of Anaesthesia, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi Medical University and Allied Hospital. Duration of study: Study was carried out over a period of six months from 01-01-2022 to 30-06-2022. Methodology: A total of 160 patients were enrolled, 80 patients each to either group D for Dexamethasone-Dimenhydrinate group or group-O for Dexamethasone-Ondansetron. Results: Mean age of the patients was 42.3±13.2 and 42.4±14.0 in group-D and Group-O, respectively. There were 40 (50%) males and females in group-D while 29 males (36.3%) and 51 females (63.7%) in group-O. Efficacy of combination dexamethasone+ dimtenhydrinate with dexamethasone+ondansetron in preventing PONV showed at 30 minutes (5.0% vs 12.5%; p=0.093), at 60 minutes (7.5% vs 20.0%; p=0.022), at 120 minutes (6.3% vs 17.5%; p=0.028) and at 24 hours (5.0% vs 18.8%; p=0.007). Conclusion: In conclusion, our study demonstrated that dexamethasone–dimenhydrinate combination was more effective than dexamethasone–ondansetron combination in prevention of nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.