Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia (Jan 2013)

Granisetron versus tropisetron in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after total thyroidectomy

  • Artemisia Papadima,
  • Stavros Gourgiotis,
  • Emmanuel Lagoudianakis,
  • Apostolos Pappas,
  • Charalampos Seretis,
  • Pantelis T Antonakis,
  • Haridimos Markogiannakis,
  • Ira Makri,
  • Andreas Manouras

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/1658-354X.109817
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 68 – 74

Abstract

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Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are frequently encountered after thyroidectomy. For PONV prevention, selective serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT 3 ) receptor antagonists are considered one of the first-line therapy. We report on the efficiency of granisetron and tropisetron, with that of placebo on the prevention of PONV in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy. Methods: One hundred twenty-seven patients were divided into three groups and randomized to receive intravenously, prior to induction of anesthesia, tropisetron 5 mg, or granisetron 3 mg, or normal saline. All patients received additionally 0.625 mg droperidol. All episodes of postoperative PONV during the first 24 h after surgery were evaluated. Results: Nausea visual analogue scale (VAS) score was lower in tropisetron and granisetron groups than the control group at all measurements ( P<0.01) except for the 8-h measurement for tropisetron ( P=0.075). Moreover, granisetron performed better than tropisetron ( P<0.011 at 4 h and P<0.01 at all other points of time) apart from the 2-h measurement. Vomiting occurred in 22.2%, 27.5%, and 37.5% in granisetron, tropisetron, and control groups, respectively ( P=0.43). Conclusions: The combination of the 5-HT 3 antagonists with droperidol given before induction of anesthesia is well tolerated and superior to droperidol alone in preventing nausea but not vomiting after total thyroidectomy.

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