Randomized Controlled Trial: Does First Oral Intake After Emergence From Anesthesia Predict the Incidence of Post-operative Vomiting in Children?

Second only to pain, nausea and vomiting are the most uncomfortable complications of surgery and anesthesia. Unfortunately, our best defense against post-operative nausea and vomiting, a medicine called ondansetron (Zofran), is in dire national shortage. Consequently, non-pharmacological methods of prevention and treatment for post-operative nausea and vomiting have increased import. Following emergence from general anesthesia, children often request food and drink. There have been no studies to date that definitively determine the optimal first food or drink choice for these children. This study proposes to randomize children to either water or juice first intake following surgery. The investigators expect to find that children who consume glucose are less likely to vomit than those who first receive water.