Background: Despite the advances in anesthetics and non-pharmacological techniques, the prevalence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in all patients remains high. It is one of the most common distressing symptoms that cause dissatisfaction among patients after anesthesia and surgery. A sub-hypnotic dose of propofol has been shown to reduce morphine-induced postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pruritus. This review article will provide sufficient knowledge on the role of propofol in minimizing opioid-induced postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pruritus by providing detailed information on propofol antiemetic and antipruritic effects, as well as discussions based on empirically available data. Method: We conducted a narrative review of the literature published between 1990 and 2023 from a range of databases; PubMed, BioMed Central, Biosis Previews, Nature, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Springer-Link, and Elsevier. Discussion and Conclusion: The literatures reviewed in this study have demonstrated that propofol may have diverse therapeutic effects including antiemetic and antipruritic. The antiemetic effect of propofol may be an effective therapeutic approach for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. The literature also demonstrated that the use of propofol for sedation during surgery may as well ameliorates opioids induced postoperative pruritus, which may be beneficial to surgical patients. Also, it was demonstrated that prophylactic use of propofol may be an effective way of preventing nausea and vomiting and pruritus during opioid use.
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