The Relationship between Menstrual Cycle Phases with Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting after Open Cholecystectomy Surgery

Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) is one of the common and unpleasant complications after surgery. Menstrual cycle may be one of the factors which affect the incidence of PONV.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between different phases of menstrual cycle and PONV.

The present study was a cross-sectional descriptive study and involved 70 women, 15-45 years old, ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) class I and II and were candidates for elective open cholecystectomy. The first day of the previous menstrual period was considered the first day of the cycle, and the patients were divided into two phases: days one to 14 constituted the proliferative and the follicular phases and days 14 to the last day of the cycle constituted the luteal phase. The patients’ general anesthesia was accomplished in a standard way. After the end of operation and the transfer of patients to the recovery room, their rate of nausea and vomiting during recovery, within the first two hours, and within the first two to six hours of their transfer to the department was examined and recorded. The Rhodes index was used to determine the severity of nausea and vomiting. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and independent t-test using SPSS 17 software.

Based on the results of this study, the severity of PONV during recovery, the first two hours, and the first two to six hours after the transfer of participants to the department did not significantly differ among the different phases. Moreover, there was not a significant difference between the occurrence of nausea and vomiting and the menstruation phases regardless of its severity in mentioned time periods. The received amount of anti-nausea or anti-vomiting medication (i.e. Plasil in this study) was higher in the proliferativefollicular phase in the first 24 hours (p value=0.011).

This study showed that menstrual phase does not affect the incidence and severity of PONV.