Abstract
Introduction: Nausea and vomiting during regional anesthesia in patients undergoing cesarean section (C/S) is still a major health issue. The efficacy of intravenous (IV) dexamethasone 8 mg versus intravenous (IV) metoclopramide 10 mg on reducing the incidence of nausea and vomiting and changes in the vital signs was examined in the present study.
Methods: One hundred and three (103) patients of 18 to 40 years with ASA I (American Society of Anesthesiologists) and II were selected for the present study. The patients were randomly assigned either in dexamethasone 8mg (Group A, n=49) or metoclopramide 10mg (Group B, n=54). The frequency of either nausea or vomiting after the administration of dexamethasone 8 mg (IV) and metoclopramide 10 mg (IV) were recorded in the first, 5, 10, 15, 30, and 60 minutes. For spinal anesthesia, 12.5 mg of 5% hyperbaric bupivacaine was administered intrathecal to the patients in both groups. During recovery, the vital signs, including heart rate, SPO2%, and blood pressure were recorded in patients of both groups.
Results: The patients in both dexamethasone (8 mg) and metoclopramide (10 mg) groups were comparable in age and ASA. The findings of the study didn't find a significant difference in the frequency of nausea and vomiting between two study groups after administration of anesthetic. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in vital signs of the patients between dexamethasone 8 mg and metoclopramide 10 mg group, except SPO2% at 60 minutes after recovery. The SPO2% was significantly higher in dexamethasone 8 mg group (97.47) compared to Metoclopramide 10 mg group (96.87).
Conclusions: The dexamethasone 8 mg and metoclopramide 10 mg can be used safely in terms of nausea and vomiting, heart beating, and blood pressure for spinal anesthesia in pregnant women.

Key words: metoclopramide, dexamethasone, nausea, vomiting, spinal anesthesia.