Efficacy of gastric aspiration to reduce postoperative vomiting after orthognathic surgery: double-blind randomized clinical trial

Abstract Orthognathic surgery is a treatment modality indicated to correct dentofacial deformities. Postoperative vomiting can be associated with multifactorial origin mainly correlated to patient-related symptoms, anesthetic and surgical factors. Swallowed blood has been related with one of those multifactorial vomiting causes. Objective: This present study was to compare the efficacy of gastric aspiration after bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Study design: A double blind randomized clinical trial was carried out and patients were divided in two groups (n = 44 / 39 respectively). Results: There was statistically significant difference between the control and study groups in the overall incidence of vomiting (p = 0.031) A stratified analysis by sex between both groups was performed demonstrating a reduction of 4 times in the odds for vomiting events independent of patient gender (OR = 0.24; 95% CI 0.07 – 0.72). Conclusions: Gastric aspiration after orthognathic surgery can reduce the effects of postoperative vomiting decreasing inpatient period and, consequently, hospitalization costs.