Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Pediatrics: Incidence and Guideline Adherence—a Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in pediatric patients is a common and clinically significant postoperative complication. The incidence of PONV has not been extensively studied in large pediatric cohorts. Furthermore, in 2020, the Fourth Consensus Guidelines for the management of PONV were published. However, the association between perioperative factors and adherence to these guidelines remains unclear. This study aims to assess both the incidence of PONV and guideline adherence within a large and diverse pediatric population. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study at a large tertiary medical center, including pediatric patients (≤18 years) who underwent surgery between September 2020 and March 2023. We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from our electronic health records, focusing on patient demographics, surgical details, anesthesia details, and prophylaxis for PONV. We calculated the incidence of PONV and used multivariable logistic regression to identify the predictors of guideline adherence. RESULTS: The cohort included 3772 patients with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) age of 9.21 (3.55–14.68) years. The incidence (95% confidence intervals) of early PONV was 1.0% (0.7–1.4) and 3.8% (3.2–4.5) for delayed PONV. Adherence to the fourth consensus guidelines for PONV management was observed in 32.5% (31.0–34.0) of cases. A high risk of PONV was identified in 55.9% (54.3–57.5) of the patients. The most common number of PONV risk factors was 3, observed in 1151 patients (30.5% [29.1–32.0]). Significant predictors of guideline adherence included the intraoperative use of long-acting opioids (odds ratio [OR], 2.711, P < .001) and age ≥3 years (OR, 2.074, P < .001). Nonadherence was associated with a higher incidence of PONV at 24 hours postsurgery (4.4% (3.6–5.2) vs 2.7% (1.9–3.8), P = .012). Factors such as specific high PONV risk surgeries ( P = .001), maintenance with inhalational agents solely ( P = .017), and neostigmine use ( P < .001) were also all statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed a lower-than-expected incidence of PONV in pediatric patients, highlighting the need for standardized definitions and improved reporting. Adherence to PONV guidelines was suboptimal, emphasizing the need for better implementation strategies.