DETERMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INHALING ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL (IPA) FOR THE TREATMENT OF NAUSEA IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have primarily evaluated the use of inhaled isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in combination with standard antiemic agents such as metoclopramide or ondansetron for the management of nausea in the emergency department. Objective: To determine the efficacy of inhalational isopropyl alcohol in reducing nausea severity among patients presenting to the emergency department. Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted at the Emergency Department of POF Hospital, Wah Cantt. A total of 130 patients aged 18-70 years presenting with acute nausea with or without vomiting for the last 24-48 hours were enrolled and evaluated for efficacy of inhalation isopropyl alcohol using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) taking NRS<3 at 30minutes following intervention as cut off for efficacy. Results: The mean age of patients was 43.5 ± 12.8 years, with females constituting 52.3% (n=68). The mean NRS score significantly decreased from 8.1 ± 1.2 at baseline to 2.1 ± 0.9 at 30 minutes (p<0.001), with a mean reduction of 6.0 ± 1.2 points. Overall efficacy (NRS < 3 at 30 minutes) was achieved in 101 patients (77.7%). Conclusion: Inhaled isopropyl alcohol is an effective, safe, and rapidly acting intervention for reducing nausea severity in emergency department patients. It demonstrated consistent efficacy across most subgroups except for vertigo-related nausea.