Postoperative nausea in patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass remains a common source of patient discomfort and can lengthen hospital stay. The reported incidence of nausea ranges from twenty to thirty percent. A single dose of dexamethasone has been shown to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing strabismus surgery and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Dexamethasone has not been studied in the bariatric population.
We prospectively randomized 84 patients undergoing laparoscopic roux-en-y gastric bypass in a double-blind manner to either 8mg of dexamethasone or normal saline at induction of anesthesia. The anesthesia and operation were standardized. A visual analog scale was used to evaluate nausea and pain in the post anesthesia care unit, and at six, twelve, eighteen and twenty-four hours.
Patients who received dexamethasone had a significantly decreased incidence of postoperative nausea when compared to patients who received placebo.
Preoperative dexamethasone decreases postoperative nausea in patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass but does not affect length of stay and pain scores.
Session: Podium Presentation
Program Number: S006