Postoperative vomiting treated with domperidone. A double-blind comparison with metoclopramide and a placebo.

In a double-blind comparison of domperidone 10 mg, domperidone 4 mg, metoclopramide 10 mg and a placebo, 176 adult patients were given an intravenous injection of one of these substances after postoperative vomiting had occurred. Patients were then observed for 6 hours. Those who failed to respond sufficiently to the double-blind injection were given an open dose of domperidone 4 mg i.v. Vomiting recurred in 52% of patients in each of domperidone groups compared with 75% of patients in the metoclopramide group and 84% of patients in the placebo group. Thus domperidone was significantly more effective than the other two substances (p < 0.05). Significantly more patients in the placebo group required a supplementary injection than in the domperidone and metoclopramide groups (p < 0.05). No side effects were observed in any patient.