The prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting using a combination of ondansetron and droperidol

Summary We have studied the effect of combination antiemetic therapy (ondansetron and droperidol) with morphine delivered by patient‐controlled analgesia following major gynaecological surgery. Sixty patients were randomly allocated to one of three treatment regimens; ondansetron alone (4 mg bolus and 0.13 mg.ml‐1 in the morphine solution), droperidol alone (1.25 mg bolus and 0.05 mg.ml‐1 in the morphine solution), or both drugs in combination. For the first 12 postoperative hours, patients receiving combination therapy experienced significantly less nausea than those receiving single antiemetic therapy (p < 0.001). There was no difference between the regimens from 12 to 18 h. We conclude that a combination of ondansetron and droperidol added to morphine in a patient‐controlled analgesia system reduces postoperative nausea to a greater extent than treatment with either drug alone following major gynaecological surgery.