Abstract

Nausea and vomiting during and after a cesarean section under spinal anaesthesia are distressing to the patient. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of metoclopramide and dexamethasone for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing a cesarean section under spinal anaesthesia. Material and Methods: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study, 100 parturient of ASA grades I and II between the ages of 18 and 35 years undergoing cesarean section under spinal anaesthesia were randomly assigned to receive either metoclopramide 10 mg or dexamethasone 8 mg intravenously immediately after umbilical cord clamping (n = 50 of each). A visual analogue scale was used to assess nausea and vomiting. Results: There were no significant differences in maternal demographics and baseline characteristics during intraoperative and postoperative management. The incidence of nausea and vomiting in the intraoperative period was higher in Group D compared to Group M (P< 0.05), and in the postoperative period, Group M had a significantly higher incidence of nausea and vomiting at 4 hours and 6 hours than Group D. No clinically and statistically significant adverse events were observed among the groups. Conclusion: In this study we have observed that administration of intravenous metoclopramide and intravenous dexamethasone after cord clamping during cesarean section under spinal anaesthesia have been effective in reducing the incidence of nausea and vomiting. Dexamethasone being effective during PONV and Metoclopramide was effective during cesarean section as well postoperatively.

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