ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Neuroinflammation and Neuropathy
Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1627353
The Impact of Ondansetron on Clinical Outcomes in Cranial Surgery Patients: A Propensity-Matched Analysis of Retrospective Data
Provisionally accepted
Debo Yun1
Yongzhen Luo1Rui Li1Wenyong Li1Chunyou Wan1
Qinjiang Huang1Jiang Du1Shiyi Zeng1
Guangdong Wang2*- 1Chengdu Wenjiang District People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
- 2First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xian, China
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Cranial surgery represents a substantial public health challenge, characterized by intricate postoperative management that can complicate patient recovery. This study investigates the effect of ondansetron, a serotonin receptor antagonist, on clinical outcomes in adult patients undergoing cranial surgery, addressing the uncertainty surrounding its impact on postoperative complications. Utilizing a retrospective cohort design, we analyzed data from 2,297 eligible patients, segregating them into ondansetron-treated and control groups, while applying propensity score matching to harmonize baseline characteristics. The primary outcomes assessed were 28-day and 90-day mortality, evaluated using multivariable Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results indicated that among the matched cohort of 905 pairs, ondansetron administration was associated with a significant reduction in both 28-day mortality (HR=0.69, 95% CI: 0.52-0.92; P=0.012) and 90-day mortality (HR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.58-0.94; P=0.014) after adjusting for potential confounders. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis further corroborated these findings, showing a consistent protective effect of ondansetron with significant mortality reduction at both 28 days (HR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.51-0.91; P=0.009) and 90 days (HR=0.75, 95% CI: 0.59-0.95; P=0.015), with subgroup analyses confirming result stability across demographic factors. In conclusion, the administration of ondansetron in cranial surgery patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale score exceeding 8 is associated with a significant reduction in short-term mortality, suggesting that ondansetron could be a viable therapeutic strategy to enhance postoperative recovery outcomes.
Keywords: Cranial surgery, Ondansetron, Mortality, Propensity score matching, clinical outcomes
Received: 12 May 2025; Accepted: 09 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yun, Luo, Li, Li, Wan, Huang, Du, Zeng and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Guangdong Wang, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xian, China
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