Bauters, T.G., Verlooy, J., Robays, H., Benoit, Y., & Laureys, G. (2013). Emesis control by aprepitant in children and adolescents with chemotherapy. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 35, 1021–1024.
To investigate the efficacy of aprepitant in children and young adolescents receiving highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy who experienced uncontrollable emesis in previous cycles
This was a retrospective, observational analysis in children and adolescents aged greater than three years treated with aprepitant at a hospital in Belgium. Patients were identified through pharmacy records. Data on the use of antiemetics and emesis control were retrieved from pharmacy and nursing files. Emesis was defined as at least one episode of vomiting during the current chemotherapy cycle. Complete vomiting control was defined as no vomiting during the current cycle while incomplete control was defined as at least one episode of vomiting. The use of aprepitant was recorded and analyzed for each patient and for every chemotherapy cycle in which aprepitant was given.
Retrospective, observational analysis over three years
Half the patients, representing a sizable percentage of episodes with complete emesis control, benefited from the use of aprepitant in combination with other antiemetics. This suggested the added value of aprepitant in patients receiving moderately or highly emetogenic cycles of chemotherapy, especially as all the included patients experienced uncontrollable emesis in previous cycles. Patients or parents with a positive experience with aprepitant asked for the availability of the product in subsequent cycles, which highlights its value.
Aprepitant achieved good results in preventing or reducing vomiting in children, which might improve compliance and patient and family satisfaction.