Postoperative nausea and vomiting and associated factors among adult elective surgical patients at Jimma Medical Center, South West Ethiopia

Abstract Background Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is the most frequent side effect of anesthesia. It affects 20–30% of all post-operative and 70%-80% of higher-risk patients. Consequently, it is one of the most frequently observed adverse events associated with the provision of anesthesia. Thus, this study is aimed to assess the incidence and associated factors of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted using a consecutive sampling method. Regular supervision and follow-up were made. Data was entered into Epi info version 7 software and transported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. The odd ratio and 95% confidence interval were computed. The findings of the study were reported using tables, figures, and narration. Variables that were found to be a candidate (p-value < 0.25) on binary logistic regression were entered into a multiple logistic regression analysis to identify independent predictors of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Results The results of this study indicated that the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting was 27.4%. Output of multiple logistic regression revealed that female sex (AOR = 4.065 (2.090–7.906), history of motion sickness (AOR = 2.836 (1.582–5.083), Gynecologic type of surgery (AOR = 3.782 (1.156–12.373), long duration of anesthesia (> 60 min) (AOR = 2.974 (1.491–5.933) and administration of post-operative opioids (AOR = 2.333 (1.221–4.457) were considered as independent predictors of postoperative nausea and vomiting at P-value < 0.05. Conclusion The present finding has shown that the overall incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting was relatively high. Therefore, prevention of PONV was strongly recommended.