Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting and Phase I Post-anesthesia Recovery After Strabismus Operations.

PURPOSE: To ascertain postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) rates in adult patients after strabismus operations and assess causes for prolonged post-anesthesia recovery.

METHODS

This was a retrospective observational study of consecutive adult patients who underwent strabismus operations at one institution from January 1, 2010, to May 31, 2017. The anesthetic records were abstracted and PONV rates were ascertained. On the basis of the cohort's 75th percentile of anesthesia recovery duration, patients were categorized into goal recovery (lower three quartiles) and prolonged recovery (upper quartile). Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess associations between clinical characteristics and prolonged recovery.

RESULTS

A total of 794 adult patients who underwent strabismus surgery were identified. PONV was present in 31 (3.9%) patients. The median (interquartile range) post-anesthesia recovery was 45 minutes (range: 33 to 63 minutes). Prolonged recovery was associated with long-term benzodiazepine use (odds ratio [OR]: 3.07; 95% CI [confidence interval]: 1.23 to 7.80; P = .02). Patients with prolonged recovery had higher rates of PONV (15 [7.2%] vs 16 [2.7%], P = .007), oversedation (107 [51.4%] vs 226 [38.6%], P = .001), and postoperative analgesic administration (138 [66.4%] vs 222 [37.9%], P < .001). Inverse associations were found between desflurane and oversedation (OR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.86; P = .004) and between acetaminophen administration and postoperative analgesic administration (OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.86; P = .007).

CONCLUSIONS

Adult patients undergoing general anesthesia for strabismus surgery had a low PONV rate. However, the presence of PONV was associated with delayed recovery room discharge. Other factors associated with prolonged Phase I recovery were long-term benzodiazepine use and longer operations, which likely resulted in an increased need for anesthetic agents and therefore more intense postoperative sedation. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2019;56(3):151-156.].