Volume 25, Issue 108, February, 2021

A clinical trial study on the efficacy of aprepitant for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in children with cancer

Gholamreza Bahoush^1♦, Pourya Salajegheh², Ahmadreza Shamshiri³, Masoumeh Jafari⁴

¹Associate Professor of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, AliAsghar Children hospital, Pediatric Department, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
²Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
³Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴Fellow of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Ali-Asghar Children Hospital, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

^♦Corresponding author
Associate Professor of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, AliAsghar Children hospital, Pediatric Department, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Email: Bahoush.gh@iums.ac.ir

ABSTRACT

Background: Preventing and controlling cancer-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in children undergoing chemotherapy is a great challenge because of more vulnerability and susceptibility of this age group. The present clinical trial study aimed to compare the antiemetic regimens including ondansetron and aprepitant in management of CINV among children. Material and Methods: In this, quazi-experimental double blind and self-control clinical trial study, 85 children ranged 1 to 15 years suffering cancer and scheduling for moderate or severe protocols for chemotherapy referred to Ali-Asghar children hospital in September to December 2020 were included. The patients in first course of chemotherapy received ondansetrone at a single dose of 0.1 mg/kg before starting chemotherapy (as the comparison course) and also received aprepitant in the next course of chemotherapy exactly the same as the first course (as the intervention group). Results: The severity of CINV during the first 24 hours of chemotherapy as well as after the first 24 hours of chemotherapy up to 120 hours in the intervention period was significantly lower than the comparison period (P<0.001), independent to gender and severity of chemotherapy. Conclusion: Aprepitant is very effective in preventing CINV in children higher than 6 months as compared to ondansetron as the control. Such effectiveness is independent to baseline variables including gender and severity of chemotherapy.

Keywords: Aprepitant, Vomiting, Children, Cancer.

Medical Science, 2021, 25(108), 486-491

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