Update on postoperative nausea and vomiting

Abstract

Nausea and vomiting are common complications in the postoperative period. Patients who suffer this type of adverse events tend to perceive the health care received as deficient. In addition, postoperative nausea and vomiting pose a costly financial burden on the health system. The December 2020 issue of the journal Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology carefully reviews current knowledge about postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Knowledge of its pathophysiology is essential to understand the pharmacological targets used in its prevention and treatment. There are multiple families of drugs in the therapeutic arsenal against PONV. At present, the available evidence appears to relatively strongly support the use of a multimodal pharmacological approach. Risk assessment and stratification are useful to define the attitude towards a specific patient. Specific populations, such as pediatric or obstetric, should receive special considerations in the management of PONV. Furthermore, the significance of these complications beyond the time of hospital discharge should be considered. Regarding the current perspectives for the future, it is necessary to highlight both the incipient development of some new antiemetic drugs, as well as the growing role of personalized medicine through genetics.