Investigating the effect of magnesium sulfate administration on postoperative nausea and vomiting in general surgeries

Objective: Nausea and vomiting after surgery are among the most common complaints of patients undergoing surgical procedures. Various medications, including magnesium sulfate, are used to mitigate this issue. This study aims to investigate the effect of magnesium sulfate on postoperative nausea and vomiting following general surgeries. Materials and methods: This double-blind clinical trial study was conducted on 70 patients undergoing abdominal surgery in ASA 1, 2 anesthesia class admitted to Bouali Hospital in Tehran 2020-2021. They were randomly divided into two groups. In the placebo control group, 200 mL of normal saline solution and in the case group, magnesium sulfate 20% with a dose of 50 mg/kg (200 mL) was infused to the patient within 15 minutes after induction of anesthesia. During the surgery and after the surgery, the patient was monitored for nausea for 6 hours. After analyzing the data, it was analyzed by SPSS26 software. Results: The average age of the patients in the intervention group was 42.08 ± 12.64 and in the control group was 41.51 ± 12.18 years. 51.4% of control group patients were female and 48.6% were male. Also, 48.6% of patients in the intervention group were women and 51.4% were men. In the intervention group, the average duration of surgery was 89.85 ± 17.42 minutes and in the control group, this time was 82.57 ± 13.13 minutes. The rate of postoperative nausea and vomiting during recovery and 2 hours after the operation in the intervention group was significantly lower than the control group ( P < 0.05). Also, the rate of nausea 6 hours after the operation in the intervention group was lower than in the control group, but this reduction was not statistically significant. It should be noted that no significant relationship was found between gender, duration of operation and the amount of nausea after operation ( P > 0.05). Conclusion: It was found that administering magnesium sulfate intravenously before surgery reduces nausea and vomiting after surgery in recovery, 2 and 6 hours after surgery. The duration of the operation and gender have no significant relationship with the development of this complication.