Chewing gum and postoperative nausea and vomiting : comment

Abstract

We read with great interest the study by Darvall et al. titled “Chewing Gum to Treat Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Female Patients: A Multicenter Randomized Trial.” We congratulate the authors on their well-designed multicenter noninferiority trial. We fully agree with the authors’ conclusion that “Chewing gum cannot be recommended as an alternative to ondansetron for treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting.” Nevertheless, we encourage the readers to carefully consider the research question by Darvall et al. when deciding on the role of chewing gum in their practice. For example, our team does not envision chewing gum primarily as a replacement for pharmacotherapy of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Chewing gum was associated with less nausea and/or vomiting, and may be used as a supplement to ondansetron. [excerpt]