Treating postoperative nausea and vomiting

Abstract

Methods, compositions, systems, and packaging are disclosed for reducing postoperative nausea and / or vomiting (PONV) in a human patient in need of general anesthesia for surgery. Such methods may include scheduling a surgery for the human patient, and administering to the patient one or more series of prescribed medicines for at least three successive days during a regimen immediately preceding general anesthesia. Compositions may include cholinergic receptor agonists, muscarinic receptor agonists, dopamine receptor agonists, MAO inhibitors, serotonin receptor agonists, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, selective serotonin releasing agents, serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors, opioids, or analgesics.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM[0001]This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority of U.S. application Ser. No. 14 / 574,858, filed Dec. 18, 2014, which is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority of International Application Serial No. PCT / US2013 / 045884, filed Jun. 14, 2013, which claims the benefit of priority from Provisional U.S. Application Ser. No. 61 / 664,622, filed Jun. 26, 2012, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of certain pharmacologic interventions and of surgery and / or other medical procedures. These side effects can result from chemical stimulation of various receptors in the body, mechanical stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract, or both. These effects are particularly bothersome after surgical procedures under general anesthesia.[0003]Patient's perception of the quality of their anesthetic experience is strongly affected by the incidence of post-operative...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method to reduce nausea and vomiting during anesthesia by using an opioid or analgesic to condition or desensitize receptors in the body that are involved in the reflex response to nausea and vomiting. This helps to make the anesthesia process more tolerable for patients.

Problems solved by technology

These effects are particularly bothersome after surgical procedures under general anesthesia.

There is also considerable economic impact on the facilities that treat these patients and may have to deal with additional staffing and overhead costs as a result of delayed patent discharge due to PONV.

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