Motion Sickness as a Predictor of Postoperative Vomiting in Children Aged 1-16 Years

Objective: Post operative vomiting (POV) is one of the most distressing complications after surgery especially in children. Since prophylactic treatment in all patients may be accompanied by many side effects, we conducted a study to evaluate the history of motion sickness (MS) as a risk factor and its predictive value for post operative vomiting in children.Material & Methods: In a prospective ohort study, a sample of 100 consecutive patients aged 1–16 years scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were questioned, a history of MS was sought and patients were observed during next 24 hours for the subsequent development of POV.Findings: The overall incidence of POV was 30%. Twenty one patients were MS positive and 79 were negative. MS-positive children were more likely to vomit than those who were MS-negative (P=0.02). Demographic data, type of surgery, technique of anesthesia, duration of fasting and surgery did not differ significantly between the two groups. The sensitivity of MS as a predictor of POV was 51% and the specificity 90%, giving a positive predictive value of 81% and negative predictive value 80%.Conclusion: Motion sickness is associated with POV in this group of children, and its positive predictive value is high.