Addition of Dexamethasone to Prophylactic Granisetron in Children Undergoing Ocular Surgeries – A Randomised Controlled Double-Blind Trial

BACKGROUND Postoperative nausea and vomiting are highly prevalent after ophthalmic surgeries in the paediatric age group. In this randomised, double-blind prospective clinical trial, we studied and compared the efficacy of granisetron and combination of granisetron with dexamethasone to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting after paediatric ocular surgeries. METHODS Sixty paediatric patients (06 - 12 yrs. of age) undergoing elective ocular surgeries were randomly allocated to one of the two groups of 30 patients each. Group (G) received granisetron 40 mcg kg–1 intravenously as a bolus before induction of anaesthesia. Group (G + d) received granisetron 40 mcg kg–1 & dexamethasone 0.1 mg kg–1 intravenously as a bolus before induction. Student t-test, Fisher exact test were used wherever applicable for statistical analysis using SPSS version 15.0. RESULTS A complete response (defined as no post-operative nausea and vomiting and no need for another rescue antiemetic) was achieved in 63.3 % of patients who received granisetron alone and in 96.7 % of patients who received granisetron plus dexamethasone. We found nil difference in complications between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS We found that addition of dexamethasone to granisetron is more effective and beneficial than granisetron alone in preventing postoperative emesis in 1st 24 hours. KEYWORDS Post-Operative Nausea and Vomiting, Anaesthesia, Granisetron, Dexamethasone