Incidence of postoperative nausea and emetic episodes after xenon anaesthesia compared with propofol-based anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND Xenon has been proved to be safe and efficacious for general anaesthesia in numerous trials. In addition, experimental studies demonstrate that xenon inhibits the 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT(3)) receptor. As 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists are known to decrease postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) to an extent comparable with a propofol-based total i.v. technique, we tested the hypothesis that general anaesthesia with xenon would result in a reduced incidence of PONV similar to that observed with propofol-based anaesthesia. METHODS After obtaining approval from the local ethics committee and written informed consent, 142 patients were randomized to receive xenon anaesthesia or propofol-based total i.v. anaesthesia (TIVA), both supplemented with remifentanil. The incidence of postoperative nausea and emetic episodes was recorded in the post-anaesthesia care unit and on the ward more than 24 h after anaesthesia. RESULTS A total of 142 patients were equally distributed between the xenon and TIVA groups. Anaesthesia was maintained with mean (sd) concentrations of either xenon 61 (2)% or propofol 100 (20) microg kg(-1) min(-1). Incidences of nausea and emetic episodes over the whole 24-h period were 66.2% and 35.2% in the xenon group and 26.8% and 16.9% in the TIVA group (P<0.001 and P<0.021). CONCLUSION Despite knowing the 5-HT(3) antagonistic properties of xenon, its use is associated with a higher incidence of nausea and emetic episodes compared with TIVA with propofol.