What is it about?
Nausea is a common and distressing symptom at the end of life. It has numerous causes, and clinical guidelines usually attempt to match the cause to a theoretically effective treatment. However, a single cause is frequently not identifiable or the need for treatment is urgent, and the clinician has to choose an agent that is likely to work no matter what the cause. This trial tested treatment based on possible cause, versus a single agent used irrespective of cause.
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Why is it important?
This shows study shows that nausea improves using either method. There are small benefits to using the guideline approach at 24 hours post treatment, but there was no statical difference in outcomes for longer term treatment ( 48 or 72 hours) using either method. There were few adverse effects with either treatment.
Perspectives
The evidence base for palliative treatment has been scant until recent years, and this study adds an important contribution to evidence of effective treatments at the end of life.
Geoffrey Mitchell
University of Queensland
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A randomized open-label study of guideline-driven antiemetic therapy versus single agent antiemetic therapy in patients with advanced cancer and nausea not related to anticancer treatment, BMC Cancer, May 2018, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/s12885-018-4404-8.
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