A serotonin transporter polymorphism is associated with postoperative nausea and vomiting: An observational study in two different patient cohorts

BACKGROUND Clinical risk factors for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are well described, whereas genetic findings are conflicting. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association of genetic variants and nongenetic variables with the incidence and severity of PONV. DESIGN A prospective observational study in two independent and different patient cohorts. SETTING Two independent patient cohorts differing in surgical procedures were enrolled in two tertiary care hospitals between 2008 and 2016. PATIENTS Consecutive patients of European origin undergoing elective surgery in two university hospitals. Clinical data were collected up to 24 h after surgery, and blood was drawn for genotyping. Of 2773 patients enrolled, 918 (Cohort A) and 1663 (Cohort B) with complete data sets were analysed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Patients were allocated to one of three groups (No PONV, Intermediate PONV or Severe PONV) depending on the frequency of vomiting, the severity of nausea and the need for antiemetics. Clinical variables and 13 genetic variants of seven candidate genes were evaluated for association with these three phenotypes. The cohorts were analysed separately by ordinal logistic regression analysis, treating PONV as a dependent ordinal three-stage variable. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS In Cohort A, the main predictors for PONV were female sex [OR (95% CI): 3.6 (2.7 to 4.8), P 
Source: European Journal of Anaesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Postoperative nausea and vomiting Source Type: research