Dexamethasone for prophylaxis of nausea and vomiting after epidural morphine for post-Caesarean section analgesia: comparison of droperidol and saline.

We have evaluated the prophylactic effect of i.v. dexamethasone 8 mg in preventing nausea and vomiting during epidural morphine for post-Caesarean section analgesia. Droperidol 1.25 mg and saline served as the control. We studied 120 parturients (n=40 in each group) receiving epidural morphine for post-Caesarean section analgesia, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. All parturients received epidural morphine 3 mg. Both dexamethasone and droperidol significantly decreased the total incidence of nausea and vomiting compared with saline, with incidences of 18, 21 and 51% for the three treatments respectively (P<0.01 and P<0.05 respectively). Parturients who received droperidol reported a more frequent incidence of restlessness (16%) than those who received dexamethasone (P<0.05).