• Comparison of the effects of ondansetron and metoclopramide during and after surgery
  • Samaneh Chenari,1,* Elham Roghani Jafari,2
    1. Semnan university of medical sciences
    2. Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch


  • Introduction: Nausea and vomiting is one of the most common problems during (in spinal and sedation patients) and after surgery in most patients. To prevent and control this problem, ondansetron and metoclopramide are commonly prescribed. Comparing the effectiveness, the appropriate time of use, benefits and side effects of these drugs can help us make the right choice in order to prevent and treat this problem.
  • Methods: This study is a review that was performed during the period (2016-2022), by searching in valid foreign databases like Scopus, google scholar, Pubmed with the English keywords "Ondansetron", "Metoclopramide", "Nausea", "Vomit", "Treatment of vomit and nausea", and performed in valid domestic databases with Persian keywords "اندانسترون", "متوکلوپرامید", "حالت تهوع", "استفراغ" and "درمان حالت تهوع و استفراغ". In the first step, a total of 35 articles were found, and finally 15 articles (10 foreign articles and 5 internal articles) that were more in line with the subject and the purpose of the research were selected and studied and organized.
  • Results: In one of the studied articles, it is recommended to use metoclopramide to prevent nausea and vomiting during surgery in patients who have undergone spinal surgery for cesarean section. In other articles that studied nausea and vomiting after various operations such as middle ear surgery, laparoscopic cholecystectomy and appendectomy, the choice of ondansetron as the superior drug was significant. Some of these articles mentioned that ondansetron is effective in controlling nausea and vomiting up to 6 hours after the operation and another article mentioned even up to 24 hours of effectivity after the operation. In other postoperative hours, all studies agreed that there was no significant difference between ondansetron and metoclopramide.
  • Conclusion: Metoclopramide is better used to prevent nausea and vomiting during cesarean surgery. Ondansetron is more effective than metoclopramide for preventing and controlling postoperative nausea and vomiting for up to 24 hours. After 24 hours of surgery, no significant difference was observed between ondansetron and metoclopramide for the prevention and control of nausea and vomiting.
  • Keywords: ondansetron, metoclopramide, nausea, vomit, Treatment of vomit and nausea