Haloperidol as prophylactic treatment for postoperative nausea and vomiting: Systematic literature review

Introduction: The effectiveness of haloperidol for the prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) has been proven in prior trials summarized by Buttner in 2004. New evidence has surfaced since then. Our objective is thus to update the current knowledge on the topic. A systematic review and a meta-analysis were performed, in order to determine the effectiveness and safety of the use of haloperidol as prophylaxis for PONV. Methodology: The systematic search, the selection of relevant articles, the extraction of data, the critical analysis of the primary studies, the comparisons and analyses were all based on the recommendations of the Cochrane Collaboration and using RevMan5 software. Results: Ten controlled clinical trials published between 1962 and 2010, that included 2,711 patients, met the selection criteria. As compared against droperidol (RR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.52-1.79) and against ondansetron (RR: 1.24; 95% CI: 0.66-2.35), no differences were found in terms of effectiveness after 24 hours. A protective effect against PONV associated with the use of haloperidol at varying doses, routes of administration and timing of administration was observed as compared with placebo. No significant increases in adverse events have been reported. Discussion: This systematic review supports the effectiveness of haloperidol as prophylactic treatment of PONV. No statistically significant differences were found as compared against ondansetron or droperidol.