Are antiemetics still contraindicated for gastroenteritis in children? Solid evidence now supports the safe use of ondansetron
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
- Correspondence to James E Colletti
Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St, NW Rochester, MN 55902, USA;
Implications for practice and research
■ In children presenting with vomiting from acute gastroenteritis, ondansetron is a reasonable therapy to allow for successful oral rehydration.
■ Further research on ondansetron and rehydration should investigate the effects of different dosing regimens, time to cessation of vomiting after antiemetic administration, as well as a cost-effectiveness analysis.
Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a common reason for a child to require emergency care and hospitalisation. In children under the age of 5 years, dehydration secondary to AGE is responsible for as many as 200 000 hospitalisations in the USA and 24 000 in the UK each year.1 2