Oral clonidine premedication does not reduce postoperative vomiting in children undergoing strabismus surgery

• Published in: Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 90 - 93
• Main Authors: Gulhas, N., Turkoz, A., Durmus, M., Togal, T., Gedik, E., Ersoy, M. O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Munksgaard International Publishers 01.01.2003; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adrenergic alpha-Agonists - therapeutic use; Anesthesia; Anesthesia depending on type of surgery; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; clonidine; Clonidine - therapeutic use; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures; Orthopedic surgery. Maxillofacial surgery. Otorhinolaryngologic surgery. Stomatology. Ophtalmology. Investigation and treatment technics; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting - prevention & control; postoperative vomiting; Preanesthetic Medication; Prospective Studies; Strabismus - surgery; Human; Postoperative; α2-Adrenergic receptor; Imidazole derivatives; Agonist; Strabismus; Oral administration; General anesthesia; Prevention; Eye disease; Chemotherapy; Vomiting; Surgery; Digestive diseases; Complication; Clonidine; Oculomotor syndrome; Child; Antiemetic; Premedication
• ISSN: 0001-5172; 1399-6576
• DOI: 10.1034/j.1399-6576.2003.470116.x

Background: We evaluated the effect of oral clonidine on postoperative vomiting (POV) in children undergoing strabismus surgery. Methods: Eighty ASA physical status I children aged 3–12 years were randomly assigned to one of two groups in a double‐blinded manner. One hour before surgery, each patient in the clonidine group (n=40) received clonidine 4 µg kg−1 in apple juice 0.2 ml kg−1, and each of the controls (n=40) received apple juice 0.2 ml kg−1 only. The protocol for general anesthesia was propofol‐sevoflurane in N2O/O2. A paracetamol suppository was administered in each case to prevent postoperative pain. Patient responses during 0–48 h after anesthesia were recorded as complete (no POV, no antiemetic rescue required), retching, vomiting, or rescue antiemetic. Results: There were no significant differences between the clonidine and control groups regarding the number of patients with complete response (21 vs. 18, respectively) retching (10 vs. 14, respectively), vomiting (19 vs. 22, respectively), or rescue antiemetic (9 vs. 12, respectively) during the first 48 h. Conclusion: Oral premedication with clonidine 4 µg kg−1 did not reduce the rate of POV in the children undergoing strabismus surgery.