Dr. Sheila Wilhelm and two colleagues at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Detroit have published a review in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy on preventing nausea and vomiting following surgery (ie, postoperative nausea and vomiting; PONY).

It’s nice to see CAM options considered along with pharmacological options.

Acupressure wristbands

• “May be effective in preventing PONV after short surgical procedures when applied prior to emetic stimulus exposure such as anesthetic agents.”

Acustimulation

• When compared to ondansetron (Zofran) “the 2 therapies were similar for preventing PONV.”
• “The combination of acustimulation and ondansetron was better than ondansetron alone in preventing nausea and vomiting.”

Korean acupressure

• “When using points on the fingers rather than the wrists, [it] significantly reduced nausea and vomiting.”

Guidelines that include acupuncture to prevent nausea and vomiting from the American Society of Anesthesiologists are discussed here.

Ginger

• “Does not appear to be beneficial in preventing PONV.”

A newer review of ginger disputes this conclusion.

Aromatherapy

• “Effective for reducing nausea in surgical patients.”
• “This may be due to controlled breathing patterns rather than the scent of the aromatherapy.”

The bottom line?

Unfortunately, none of these options were included in the summary recommendations.

Here’s a suggestion. Patient controlled acupressure as described here, combined with ondansetron.

3/27/07 19:13 JR