Post-operative nausea and vomiting

Post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common clinical problem with widespread effects on morbidity, patient satisfaction and cost. Although a myriad of risk factors have been postulated as having the potential to increase its incidence, a risk scoring system using four factors – female sex, non-smoking status, past history of PONV and use of post-operative opioids – identifies most at-risk individuals. Prevention and treatment is multi-factorial and aimed at risk-reduction, pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques.