Upon completion of the chapter, the reader will be able to:
- 1. Construct a list of etiologies associated with the occurrence of nausea and vomiting.
- 2. Explain the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in the act of vomiting.
- 3. Recommend appropriate nonpharmacologic management options for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
- 4. Differentiate between the therapy of simple and complex nausea and vomiting.
- 5. Select the most appropriate agent for treatment of simple nausea and vomiting in the elderly.
- 6. List three risk factors associated with CINV.
- 7. Select a prophylactic antiemetic based on the emetic risk of a specific chemotherapy agent.
- 8. Recommend a treatment regimen for prophylaxis of delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in a patient receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
- 9. List three risk factors for the development of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV).
- 10. Contrast the prophylactic and treatment doses of serotonin receptor antagonists used for PONV.
- 11. Recommend a drug and dose for a patient undergoing hyperfractionated total body irradiation.
- 12. Recommend a drug for prophylaxis of motion sickness.
- 13. List the drugs that are appropriate for use in a pregnant woman experiencing nausea and vomiting.
- 14. Discuss the role of drugs in the treatment of pediatric gastroenteritis.
- 15. List two objective parameters to determine if a patient is benefiting or having toxicity from his/her drug therapy of nausea and vomiting.
Nausea and vomiting are common complaints in individuals of all ages. (Disorders are discussed in Etiology section.) However, because of the variable etiologies of these problems, management can be quite simple or detailed and complex, essentially innocuous or associated with therapy-induced adverse reactions. This chapter provides an overview of nausea and vomiting, two multifaceted problems.
Nausea is usually defined as the inclination to vomit or as a feeling in the throat or epigastric region alerting an individual that vomiting is imminent. Vomiting is defined as the ejection or expulsion of gastric contents through the mouth and is often a ...