Effect of dexamethasone and ramosetron on the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in low-risk patients: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial

Table 3 VNRS scores for pain and rescue analgesic data up to 48 h after anesthesia

Characteristic	Group C (n = 58)	Group R (n = 58 )	Group DR (n = 58)	P value
VNRS score for pain
Postoperative 0–1 h Postoperative 1–6 h Postoperative 6–24 h Postoperative 24–48 h	2.8 ± 1.8 2.6 ± 1.7 1.7 ± 1.5 1.3 ± 1.0	2.7 ± 1.5 2.2 ± 1.6 1.3 ± 1.2 0.7 ± 1.1	2.4 ± 1.5 1.9 ± 1.2 1.4 ± 1.0 1.0 ± 0.8	0.618 0.595 0.609 0.197
Rescue analgesic
Postoperative 0–1 h Postoperative 1–6 h Postoperative 6–24 h Postoperative 24–48 h	40 (69%) 25 (43%) 23 (40%) 14 (24%)	22 (38%)^* 16 (28%) 24 (41%) 7 (12%)	22 (38%)^* 15 (26%) 24 (41%) 6 (10%)	0.001 0.091 0.976 0.082

Data are presented as mean score ± SD or n (%) of patients. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (continuous variables) or the χ2 test (incidence variables). Patients in group C received 2 mL of intravenous 0.9% saline at the end of surgery; those in group R received 0.3 mg of intravenous ramosetron at the end of surgery; and those in group DR received 5 mg of intravenous dexamethasone at the induction of anesthesia and 0.3 mg of intravenous ramosetron at the end of surgery. The verbal numerical rating scale (VNRS) assigned scores from 0–10, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 indicating the worst pain possible. ^*P < 0.05 in comparison with group C (The p-values are based on Scheffe’s post-hoc test adjusted using the Bonferroni correction)

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