Relationship Between Anesthetic Depth and Severity of Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Undergoing Elective Abdominal Surgery

Objectives Brain processing parameters during anesthesia result in induction of anesthesia with a low-dose of hypnotic drugs and reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting. The current study aimed at determining the relationship between the depth of anesthesia, and nausea and vomiting after the general anesthesia in patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery.
Methods In the current descriptive, analytical study, 57 patients candidate for elective herniorrhaphy were selected by the convenient sampling method in Beheshti Hospital, Sabzevar, Iran, in summer 2014. Depth of anesthesia was monitored by bispectral index (BIS) and recorded at 5-minute intervals during the maintenance period. The postoperative nausea and vomiting scores were recorded in the recovery and 6 hours after operation. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests by SPSS software version 18; P>0.05 was considered significant.
Results A total of 57 patients with the mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of 45.54±13.46 years were studied, out of which 36 were male and 21 female. There was no significant difference between the amounts of anesthetic depth and severity of nausea and vomiting in patients during recovery (P=0.179).
In the first 6 hours after surgery, there were significant differences between the values of depth of anesthesia and postoperative nausea and vomiting (P=0.003).
Conclusion Monitoring and maintaining the depth of anesthesia reduced side effects such as nausea and vomiting after surgery.