The effectiveness of inhalation isopropyl alcohol vs. granisetron for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting

We evaluated preemptive treatment for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) with intravenous (IV) granisetron, 0.1 mg, introoperatively as compared with the use of 70% inhalation isopropyl alcohol and a control group for the prevention of PONV. We randomly assigned 57 women, 18 to 50 years old, undergoing laparoscopic procedures to 1 of 3 groups: (1) inhalation of 70% isopropyl alcohol, (2) 0.1 mg granisetron IV, and (3) no prophylactic treatment control. Participants were asked to rate their nausea and vomiting preoperatively, on arrival to postanesthesia care unit (PACU), at discharge from PACU, 6 hours after extubation, and 24 hours after extubation and any occurrence of nausea and vomiting using the numeric rating scale (NRS), 0 to 10. Group 1 experienced more PONV episodes than groups 2 and 3 during the 6- to 24-hour postsurgical timeframe (P = .02). There were no significant differences among the 3 groups in demographics, first episode of PONV, total number of episodes in 24 hours, NRS rating at rescue, and anesthetic duration. PONV and menstrual cycle phase had no positive correlation (P > .05). History of smoking, PONV, and motion sickness had no significant difference against any measure of PONV (P > .05).