Background and Objectives The authors studied whether metoclopramide decreases the incidence of emesis after spinal anesthesia supplemented with subarachnoid morphine.

Methods Patients underwent total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia using tetracaine with norepinephrine and morphine 0.2 mg. Forty-eight patients were included in the study conducted with a paired design, using sequential analysis. Patients were allocated randomly and double-blinded to the treatment with metoclopramide or to the control group. In one group, metoclopramide 20 mg intramuscularly was given before and after surgery; patients in the control group were given equal volumes of saline. The presence of emesis for 5 hours postoperatively was recorded.

Results In the postoperative period, emesis was noted in 58% of control patients but in only 17% of patients given metoclopramide (P < .05).

Conclusions The data suggest that metoclopramide is effective against postoperative emesis after spinal anesthesia supplemented with subarachnoid morphine.