Simplified risk models, such as the Apfel score, facilitate the calculation of the risk of postoperative nausea-vomiting (PONV) for adult patients. In the absence of any risk factors, PONV risk stands at 10%. At the same time, the presence of one of the four risk factors (female gender, non-smoking, PONV/car sickness history, and postoperative opioid use) represents a 20% risk for PONV. Further, this risk increases by 20% with the addition of each risk factor, reaching 80% in the presence of all four factors. 

A recent study investigated the prevalence of PONV and the validity of the scoring systems used for nausea-vomiting in the literature. 

The study included Five groups of patients with an Apfel score of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. It took each case to the recovery room at the end of the operation and recorded nausea-vomiting according to the Abramowitz emesis score. 

The study found-

• The PONV risk for women is 24.637 times higher than for men; furthermore, this risk increases 6.27 times in those with gynecological surgery than in the other type of surgery.
• The PONV risk in urological surgery is 0.345 times less than the other type of surgery.
• The PONV risk is 4.56 times higher than the others in those with lower abdominal surgery.
• With the duration, the risk of PONV increases 1.01 times. 

This study reports the prevalence of PONV is considerably lower than that mentioned in the literature. Thus, updating PONV scoring systems with long-term studies with larger populations is necessary.

Canakci E, Catak T, Basar H E, Cebeci Z, Coskun I, Saltali A O, Altinbas A. Prevalence study for postoperative nausea vomiting: A training hospital example. Niger J Clin Pract 2021;24:1633-40