Early Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Routine Clinical Practice: A Retrospective Observational Study of Associated Perioperative Factors and Prophylactic Practices.
- 1Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pain Medicine, Konya, Türkiye.
- 2Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Isparta, Türkiye.
- 3Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Isparta, Türkiye.
Abstract
Objective
Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) remains a common complication in the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) and negatively affects patient comfort and satisfaction. In routine clinical practice, identifying perioperative factors associated with early PONV may help optimize preventive strategies and guide anesthetic management. This study primarily aimed to evaluate PONV during the first postoperative hour and associated perioperative factors, and secondarily to describe PONV at later postoperative time points and antiemetic practices.Methods
This retrospective observational study evaluated adult patients who underwent elective surgery under general or regional anaesthesia from January to December 2021. After applying eligibility and complete-case criteria, 584 ASA I-III patients were included. Demographic characteristics, anesthetic techniques, surgical features, Apfel risk factors, antiemetic prophylaxis, rescue antiemetic use, and binary PONV data at postoperative hours 1, 6, 12, and 24 were assessed.Results
PONV occurred in 128 patients (22%) during the first postoperative hour and decreased at later postoperative time points. In univariate analyses, first-hour PONV was associated with general anaesthesia, inhalational anesthetic use, perioperative opioid use, female sex, non-smoking status, and perioperative medication-related variables (P < 0.05). The adjusted analysis suggested that early PONV in routine clinical practice reflects an overlapping, multifactorial pattern rather than the effect of a single dominant perioperative factor.Conclusion
First-hour PONV remained a clinically relevant problem in routine perioperative care despite the common use of prophylactic antiemetics. These findings highlight the importance of careful early postoperative monitoring and individualized risk-based preventive strategies in daily anaesthesia practice.
Related
- Development and Validation of a Perioperative Risk Update Model for Postoperative Delirium in Patients Aged ≥ 80 Years Undergoing Hip Fracture Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study
- Perioperative tranexamic acid and postoperative haematuria after transvesical prostatectomy: a prospective observational cohort study
- Routinely available perioperative variables and EHR-captured postoperative adverse-event indicators after adult abdominal surgery: A retrospective cohort study using MOVER EPIC
- Serum NLRP3 levels are associated with postoperative delirium of elderly patients with lung cancer: an observational analytical study
- Association of a multimodal perioperative nutritional/ERAS care pathway with postoperative infectious complications following radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer: a retrospective nonconcurrent cohort study
BibTeX
@article{balık2026early,
title = {{Early Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Routine Clinical Practice: A Retrospective Observational Study of Associated Perioperative Factors and Prophylactic Practices.}},
author = {Onurcan Balık and Filiz Alkaya Solmaz and Mustafa Soner Özcan and Gökçe İşcan and Pakize Kırdemir},
journal = {Turkish journal of anaesthesiology and reanimation},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.4274/tjar.2026.262558},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969163},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Early Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Routine Clinical Practice: A Retrospective Observational Study of Associated Perioperative Factors and Prophylactic Practices.
AU - Onurcan Balık
AU - Filiz Alkaya Solmaz
AU - Mustafa Soner Özcan
AU - Gökçe İşcan
AU - Pakize Kırdemir
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Turkish journal of anaesthesiology and reanimation
DO - 10.4274/tjar.2026.262558
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969163
AB - Objective Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) remains a common complication in the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) and negatively affects patient comfort and satisfaction. In routine clinical practice, identifying perioperative factors associated with early PONV may help optimize preventive strategies and guide anesthetic management. This study primarily aimed to evaluate PONV during the first postoperative hour and associated perioperative factors, and secondarily to describe PONV at later postoperative time points and antiemetic practices.Methods This retrospective observational study evaluated adult patients who underwent elective surgery under general or regional anaesthesia from January to December 2021. After applying eligibility and complete-case criteria, 584 ASA I-III patients were included. Demographic characteristics, anesthetic techniques, surgical features, Apfel risk factors, antiemetic prophylaxis, rescue antiemetic use, and binary PONV data at postoperative hours 1, 6, 12, and 24 were assessed.Results PONV occurred in 128 patients (22%) during the first postoperative hour and decreased at later postoperative time points. In univariate analyses, first-hour PONV was associated with general anaesthesia, inhalational anesthetic use, perioperative opioid use, female sex, non-smoking status, and perioperative medication-related variables (P < 0.05). The adjusted analysis suggested that early PONV in routine clinical practice reflects an overlapping, multifactorial pattern rather than the effect of a single dominant perioperative factor.Conclusion First-hour PONV remained a clinically relevant problem in routine perioperative care despite the common use of prophylactic antiemetics. These findings highlight the importance of careful early postoperative monitoring and individualized risk-based preventive strategies in daily anaesthesia practice.
SN - 2667-677X
SN - 2667-6370
ER -