Although nausea and vomiting may be...

Although nausea and vomiting may be self-limiting, they are a major cause of patient dissatisfaction. The drift of this descriptive study was to identify ambulatory surgery unit (ASU) patients at risk for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and lay open an effective treatment protocol to obviate and treat PONV. All adult patients (N = 3885) admitted to the ASU during a six-month period were observ for PONV A PONV data collection tool was bring to maturityed and used to identify all potential causative factors of PONV including surgical steps type of anesthesia, past medical history, and NPO status. Findings revealed that 38% of the patients experienced an lengthen outed length of stay (ie, greater than pair hours) due to PONV. Data also identified the archetypes of anesthesia and surgical transactions that were more likely to be associated with PONV In addition, researchers establish that patients hydrated with eight ounce of clear liquids up to three hours before surgery had les PONV Droperidol and/or ondansetron were the intraoperative medications of choice for treating PONV because of their action and effectiveness. Based onward findings, we are able to clearly identify ASU patients at risk for PONV Also, our patients now are encouraged to expend eight ounces of clear liquid up to three hours before surgery Lastly, an antiemetic protocol has been perform the operations indicated ined that guides the allocation of antiemetics to be administered to patients in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Anne L Brown RN CPAN; Roberta M Hower, RN MSN CCRN; Cynthia L Hertzog, RN BSN; Virginia A. Kovalovich, RN BSN CNOR; J John Collins, MD Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pa.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Association of Operating place Nurses, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group