DOUBLE-BLIND CROSSOVER TRIAL OF DROPERIDOL, METOCLOPRAMIDE, AND PROCHLORPERAZINE AS ANTIEMETICS IN CISPLATIN THERAPY

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 3  (6) , 618-621
Abstract
Droperidol, metoclopramide and prochlorperazine were compared in a double-blind cross-over trial to determine their relative effectiveness in preventing and controlling the nausea and vomiting caused by cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. Patients (25) receiving cisplatin-containing chemotherapy for various malignancies were entered into this trial with 14 patients completing the 3-drug randomization sequence. This was the patient''s 1st exposure to cisplatin. Each antiemetic was administered in a diluted 50 ml i.v. injection over 15 min beginning 0.5 h before cisplatin and 1.5, 3.5, 5.5 and 8.5 h after cisplatin. Dosages of antiemetics for doses of cisplatin .gtoreq. 100 mg/sq m were droperidol 2.5 mg, metoclopramide 2 mg/kg or prochlorperazine 5 mg in each infusion. For doses of cisplatin < 100 mg/sq m, the dosages were droperidol 2.5 mg for the 1st 2 doses and 1.25 mg for subsequent doses, metoclopramide 1 mg/kg or prochlorperazine 5 mg for each dose. The median number of emetic episodes for the 1st 24 h were as follows: droperidol 3.2; metoclopramide 1.8; prochlorperazine 3.7. There was a significant difference in number of emetic episodes demonstrating antiemetic superiority of metoclopramide over both droperidol and prochlorperazine. For these 14 patients completing the trial, 8 preferred metoclopramide, 2 preferred prochlorperazine, 1 preferred droperidol and 3 had no preference. At the doses used here, the antiemetic efficacy of metoclopramide was superior to either droperidol or prochlorperazine.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: