Nausea and vomiting after anesthesia and minor surgery.

The antiemetic effects of droperidol, diphenidol, and placebo were compared in 210 patients subjected to minor gynecologic or urologic procedures. Atropine (0.6 mg), meperidine (1 mg/kg) body mass, and either droperidol (5 mg), diphenidol (40 mg), or 2 ml of 0.9% saline were administered IM, 1 hour before general anesthesia. Trial drugs were presented in coded ampules so that the study was conducted double-blind. Droperidol appeared superior to both diphenidol (p less than 0.01) and placebo (p less than 0.001) in the prevention of vomiting, and reduced the incidence of nausea when compared to saline (p less than 0.05). Forty-four patients experienced side effects, which occurred with similar frequency in the 3 groups studied.