Abstract
Introduction: Common complications following anesthesia include Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), which leads to patient dissatisfaction and discomfort. The incidence of PONV after inhalational general anesthesia is up to 30% [1]. When anesthetics are used with no prophylaxis, and in certain high-risk patients, the incidence of PONV can reach up to 70% [2]. Furthermore, laparoscopic surgeries are associated with an even higher incidence of PONV (40%-75%) [3]. This makes PONV one of the most prevalent post-operational complaints [4].Methods: This case control study includes 79 patients with high PONV risk scores scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia in Duhok hospitals. 40 patients received 8 mg (2ml) metoclopramide intravenously as pretreatment, while 39 patients received normal saline (2ml) as the control group. After 48 hours, we called patients and asked them about the incidence and severity of PONV.Result: statically insignificant differences in the incidence of PONV between both groups (p-value 0.91). The incidence of PONV in this study was (27.8%) which correlates with the PONV risk score mean (2.48) and was statistically significant with a p-value of less than 0.01 and a 95% confidence score (2.13, 18.32).Conclusion: PONV risk score is effective in the prediction of the incidence of PONV, and Metoclopramide is ineffective as a single drug in the prevention of PONV in high-risk patients.