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Audit of Nausea and Vomiting Management in Palliative Care Hospital Patients
Author(s) -
Burgess Christel L,
Tuffin Penelope HR,
Clifford Rhonda M
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/j.2055-2335.2007.tb00771.x
Subject(s) - medicine , nausea , antiemetic , vomiting , audit , palliative care , intensive care medicine , anesthesia , nursing , management , economics
Aim To investigate prescribing patterns of antiemetics for palliative care hospital patients and to compare them with best practice guidelines. Method A retrospective audit of nausea and vomiting management was undertaken for 70 patients referred to the hospital Palliative Care Service. Results 19 patients presented with uncontrolled nausea and/or vomiting. An antiemetic was prescribed for 43 (61%) patients, with dopamine antagonists the most commonly prescribed. Patients taking regular antiemetics had better symptom control compared to patients taking prn (when required) doses. The 5‐hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor antagonists were prescribed in accordance with best practice guidelines in only one‐quarter of cases. Conclusion In the majority of cases, antiemetics were prescribed according to best practice guidelines. Regular antiemetics (rather than prn ) provide better symptom management.