Background. Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common problem and may lead to catastrophic complications,\nespecially in neurosurgical cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dexamethasone and ondansetron for\npreventing PONV in patients who underwent microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery. Methods. A prospective, doubleblinded,\nrandomized control trial was conducted with 54 patients who underwent MVD. Patients were allocated into two\ngroups. The study group (Gr. D) received intraoperative dexamethasone 4 mg iv and ondansetron 4 mg iv, whereas the control\ngroup (Gr. N) received placebo (0.9% normal saline 1 ml iv and 0.9% normal saline 2 ml iv). The incidence and severity of\nPONV were observed at 1, 2, 4, and 24 hr postsurgery. Results. At 1, 2, 4, and 24 hr postsurgery, Gr. D had a lower incidence\n(7.4%, 11.1%, 29.6%, and 66.7%) and lower severity of PONV than Gr. N (18.5%, 29.6%, 37.0%, and 81.5% at 1, 2, 4, and 24 hr;\np > 0.05). The requirement for antiemetic drugs was not significantly different between the groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion.\nAdministration of dexamethasone and ondansetron 4 mg seemed to decrease the incidence of PONV in the first 24 hours but\nnot significantly. Therefore, further studies are to be carried out by escalating either dexamethasone dose or the dose of\nondansetron or both.
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