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RETRACTED ARTICLE: Reduction of postoperative nausea, vomiting, and analgesic requirement with dexamethasone for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

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This article was retracted on 12 May 2012

Abstract

Background

Dexamethasone has antiemetic and analgesic effects for various types of surgery. The efficacy of dexamethasone for reducing postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and analgesic requirement has never been evaluated for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

Methods

In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, patients intravenously received placebo, dexamethasone 4 mg, or dexamethasone 8 mg immediately before induction of anesthesia. A standard anesthetic technique, including sevoflurane and air in oxygen, was used. Postoperatively, emetic symptoms (nausea, retching, and vomiting) and analgesic requirement were evaluated by an investigator.

Results

The study enrolled 90 patients (38 men and 52 nonpregnant women), with each treatment group comprising 30 patients. The rate of patients experiencing PONV 0–24 h after anesthesia was 60% for the dexamethasone 4 mg group (p = 0.294) and 33% for the dexamethasone 8 mg group (p = 0.01), compared with 70% for the placebo group. The need for indomethacin to relieve intolerable pain was less in the dexamethasone 8 mg group than in the placebo group (p = 0.008) or the dexamethasone 4 mg group (p = 0.029). No difference in analgesic requirement was found between the dexamethasone 4 mg group and the placebo group (p = 0.395). No clinically important adverse effects due to the study drug were observed in any group.

Conclusions

Prophylactic therapy with dexamethasone 8 mg is effective in reducing PONV and analgesic requirement for patients undergoing LC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Ushiku Aiwa General Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan

    Y. Fujii & M. Itakura

  2. First Department of Anesthesiology, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1, Ohmori-Nishi, Ohta-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan

    Y. Fujii

Authors
  1. Y. Fujii
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  2. M. Itakura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Y. Fujii.

Additional information

The Editors-in-Chief have retracted this article, because the study on which the article was based was conducted without ethics committee approval.

A retraction note to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00464-012-2321-5.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00464-012-2321-5.

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Fujii, Y., Itakura, M. RETRACTED ARTICLE: Reduction of postoperative nausea, vomiting, and analgesic requirement with dexamethasone for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Surg Endosc 24, 692–696 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-009-0657-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-009-0657-2

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