Preoperative gabapentin decreases the incidence of postoperative vomiting and analgesic requirements after pediatric adenotonsillectomy

Abstract

Abstract Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative gabapentin on the incidence of postoperative vomiting (POV) and on analgesic requirements after adenotonsillectomy in pediatrics. Patients and methods: A total of 144 pediatric patients (4-8 years) scheduled for elective adenotonsillectomy were randomly assigned to either the gabapentin (G) group (20 mg/kg, 2 h before surgery) or the placebo (P) group. A standard technique was used for anesthesia. Ondansetron (0.1 mg/kg) was used as a rescue antiemetic and ketorolac (1 mg/kg) was used as a rescue analgesic postoperatively. The prevalence of POV and number of patients who required ketorolac as a rescue analgesic were assessed in the first 6 h after surgery. Results: Of the 72 patients, 15 patients (20.8%) in the G group and 21 patients (43%) in the P group developed POV; the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.007). The number of patients who required analgesics in the G group was 14 (19.4%) and in the P group was 35 (48.6%), and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.0004). Conclusion: Our data show that preoperative gabapentin reduces the incidence of POV and the analgesic requirements after pediatric adenotonsillectomy.