Antiemetic Efficacy of Prophylactic Ondansetron Versus Ondansetron with Dexamethasone Combination Therapies in Women Undergoing Breast Surgeries: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To compare the prophylactic antiemetic efficacy of ondansetron monotherapy with that of the combination of ondansetron and dexamethasone in the prevention on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in breast surgeries by observing the incidence of PONV, assess the percentage of participants requiring rescue antiemetics, know the side effects of drugs, and analyze the effect of the surgical duration of breast surgeries.

Methods: The group ondansetron (O) received 0.1 mg/kg IV ondansetron and the other group (ondansetron and dexamethasone combination, OD) received 0.1 mg/kg IV ondansetron and 0.1 mg/kg of dexamethasone. The incidence of PONV in the first 24 h, percentage of population receiving rescue antiemetics, surgical duration, and hemodynamic parameters were noted.

Results: In the 0 h to 6 h postoperative period, 38.9% of participants of group O had PONV, whereas only 13.9% in group OD had PONV, which was statistically significant (P < .016). About 30.6% of study population in group O and 8.3% in group OD required rescue antiemetics which was statistically significant (P = .017). Surgical duration of more than 120 min had a statistically significant higher incidence of PONV in the O group with a P-value of .048.

Conclusion: The combination of prophylactic ondansetron with dexamethasone is more efficacious than ondansetron alone for the prevention of PONV in women undergoing breast surgeries.