Inhaled Isopropyl Alcohol and Intravenous Ondansetron for Post operative Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is frequently encountered in post operative care unit. Effective treatment is promptly warranted to decrease morbidity of patients. Female gender, nonsmoker, young age, laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgeries are major risk factors for PONV. Ondansetron is commonly used for its prevention and treatment. However, inhaled isopropyl alcohol (IPA) can also be used and recently been into practice. In this study we compared inhaled isopropyl alcohol and intravenous ondansetron for treatment of post operative nausea and vomiting after laparoscopic surgery among female patients. Methods: This study was carried out at Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital and included 76 female patients, aged 18 to 60 years, classified as ASA I–II, who were scheduled for laparoscopic surgery. At time of preoperative evaluation, patients were divided into two groups i.e., Group I and Group O, each consisted 38 patients. Post surgery, patients who experienced PONV in the recovery room either received inhalation treatment with 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA)-(Group I) or 4mg ondansetron intravenously (Group O). Nausea levels were monitored using a verbal numeric rating scale (VNRS) at regular time intervals. A treatment was considered successful if the patient’s nausea and vomiting score decreased by 50% or more Results: Among 76 patients, 29 (38.16%) developed PONV. Both groups had similar baseline characteristics and initial PONV severity with p-value > 0.05. The IPA group experienced faster symptom relief, achieving 50% reduction in symptoms in 4.69 ± 2.02 minutes compared to 7.73 ± 2.59 minutes in the ondansetron group (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Inhaling 70% isopropyl alcohol provided faster relief from postoperative nausea and vomiting.