Nausea, Vomiting, and Hiccups: A Review of Mechanisms and Treatment

Nausea, vomiting, and hiccups are troubling complications associated with sedation and general anesthesia.This article will review the basic pathophysiology of these events and current recommendations for their prevention andmanagement. Key Words: Nausea; Vomiting; PONV; Hiccups; Anesthetic complications; Antiemetics. Nausea and vomiting is one of the most commonpostoperative complaints from patients follow-ing general anesthesia, second only to pain. Its occur-rence is miserable for the patient and both troubling and perplexing to the provider. It is not surprising that a staggering number of publications have been dedi-cated to the prevention and management of this com-plication. Unfortunately, its pathophysiology is incom-pletely understood, and the many contributing factors have rendered the majority of these publications in-conclusive. In many cases, this has spawned miscon-ceptions and anecdotes that are not scientificall