Comparison of the combined effects of atropine and neostigmine with atropine and edrophonium on the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

To investigate the effects of different types of anticholinesterase on the incidence of the postoperative nausea and vomiting, 100 ASA class I-II adult premenopausal female patients undergoing elective lower abdominal surgery were randomized into two groups. In both groups, anesthesia was induced with thiopental and fentanyl and 50% nitrous oxide and 0.5-1.5% of isoflurane were used for anesthetic maintenance with succinylcholine 1 approximately 1.5 mg/kg for intubation and atracurium 0.3 mg/kg/hr for maintenance of muscle relaxation. Patients received reversal agents for neuromuscular blockade after operation when the evoked train-of-four (TOF) count returned to four visual responses. A mixture of atropine 8 micrograms/kg and edrophonium 0.75 mg/kg was given to the first group of patients while atropine 15 micrograms/kg and neostigmine 40 micrograms/kg was given to another group of patients. All the patients were observed for the occurrence of nausea or vomiting for 2 hours after the operation in the recovery room. The incidence of nausea was not statistically significantly different in both groups (20% in neostigmine group and 26% in edrophonium group). The occurrence of vomiting was also similar in both groups (8% in neostigmine group and 6% in edrophonium group). We concluded that there were no difference in the incidence of postoperative nausea or vomiting with the use of either neostigmine or edrophonium with atropine for antagonizing neuromuscular blockade after the lower abdominal surgery.