20 Jan Doxylamine-Pyridoxine May Not Be Effective For Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Persaud
Navindra Persaud MD, MSc, BA, BSc
Department of Family and Community Medicine and
Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
St Michael’s Hospital
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: I used to prescribe doxylamine-pyridoxine for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. I was taught to prescribe it. The medication was recommended as the first line medication for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. When I looked carefully at the clinical practice guidelines that recommended this medication, they did not cite supporting studies. So I tried to find the basis for the recommendations. It was surprisingly difficult to obtain information about this commonly prescribed drug.
The medication seems to be ineffective based on the results of this trial.
I was also surprised that important information about the trial was hidden until now. Although some results were published in 2010, the earlier reports did not mention the fact that a difference of 3 points on the 13-point symptom scale was prespecified as the minimal important difference (or the smallest difference that a patient would deem as important).
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: The medication seems to be ineffective.
It is important to carefully review all of the information about medications before they are used. Policies should be changed to make it easier to access information.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: There may be other commonly used medications that are ineffective. We should make information about all medications publicly available and carefully review that information.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Doxylamine-pyridoxine for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy randomized placebo controlled trial: Prespecified analyses and reanalysis
Navindra Persaud , Christopher Meaney, Khaled El-Emam, Rahim Moineddin, Kevin Thorpe
PLOS Published: January 17, 2018
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189978
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0189978
Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
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Last Updated on January 20, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD