Anesthesia for magnetic resonance imaging in children: A low incidence of protracted post-procedure vomiting

Study Objective: To determine the incidence and severity of vomiting in pediatric patients who have had inhalation anesthesia for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Design: A retrospective study of consecutive pediatric patients who had anesthesia for MRI. Setting: A large university hospital with an integrated clinic facility. Patients: 234 children who required an MRI under general anesthesia over a 30 month period (July 1989 to February 1992). Measurements and Main Results: The duration of inhalation anesthesia was 105 ± 33 minutes. Following anesthesia, the time to oral intake was 92 ± 69 minutes. Eighteen patients (9%) experienced one or more episodes or emesis. In 14 of the 18 patients, vomiting occurred once and did not delay the intake of oral fluids or the discharge time from clinic when compared with the rest of the patients. Only one patient had frequent vomiting (more than three episodes), and all vomiting resolved spontaneously without anti-emetic therapy in less than eight hours following anesthesia. Conclusions: Protracted post-procedure vomiting is an infrequent complication of inhalation anesthesia for MRI. Inhalation anesthesia may be a less important cause of postoperative vomiting than factors such as the type of operative procedure, use of opioids, or presence of postoperative pain.