Prevalence of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting and Pain in Patients Undergoing Elective Orthopaedic Surgery in Iran.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pain and the severity of postoperative pain in adult patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery in Iran.

DESIGN

A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was used.

METHODS

One hundred twenty-eight patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery participated in the study. Demographic and surgical characteristics, severity of pain, frequency of postoperative nausea and vomiting, amount of analgesics and antiemetics administered were measured.

FINDINGS: The mean time of surgery was 123.67 min. Of all patients, 59.3% experienced nausea and 39% had postoperative vomiting; 98.4% of participants experienced pain. The mean pain intensity in the first 24 hours after surgery was 6.3 based on the Visual Analogue Scale.

CONCLUSION

High prevalence rates of postoperative nausea (59.3%) and vomiting (39%) were recorded. Among 98.4% of participants, pain intensity was rated as moderate during the first 24 hours after consciousness.