The Effects of Throat Packing and Gender on Postoperative Nausea, Vomiting, and Sore Throat in Septorhinoplasty Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: In satisfaction-oriented procedures such as septorhinoplasty, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and sore throat may adversely affect the hospital discharge process and delay the patient's return to daily life. To date, there is no conclusive evidence demonstrating the positive impact of throat pack placement on these postoperative symptoms in septorhinoplasty patients, and the role of gender in these outcomes remains insufficiently explored.

Methods: PONV and sore throat were investigated in a randomized, prospective, double-blind study involving 152 patients undergoing elective septorhinoplasty, who were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of throat packing. Additionally, the effect of gender on these postoperative complaints was also investigated.

Results: Throat packing did not reduce PONV; however, it was associated with an increase in postoperative sore throat during the early postoperative period. Additionally, both PONV and postoperative sore throat were observed to be more common in female patients.

Conclusion: In our study, consistent with previous research, throat packing was not found to reduce PONV and was associated with an increased incidence of postoperative throat pain. Therefore, throat packing is not routinely indicated in elective septorhinoplasty. Additionally, given that PONV and throat pain were more frequently observed in female patients, we recommend the early adjustment of postoperative medication protocols to address these symptoms more effectively in this patient group. Throat pack placement in septorhinoplasty did not reduce PONV. Throat pack use was associated with a trend toward increased early postoperative sore throat. Female patients consistently reported higher rates of PONV and sore throat than males. To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial to specifically evaluate the influence of gender on PONV and postoperative sore throat in septorhinoplasty patients.

Level Of Evidence I: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors   www.springer.com/00266 .

Abstract as indexed by PubMed; the article is open access (PubMed Central).