09 Dec ER Trial of Inhaling Isopropyl Alcohol From Pads Reduced Nausea

Dr. April

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michael D. April, MD, DPhil
Department of Emergency Medicine
San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium
San Antonio, TX 

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. April: Anesthesia research studies have found that nasal inhalation of isopropyl
alcohol has efficacy in treating nausea among post-operative patients. We
sought to study this agent among Emergency Department patients with nausea or
vomiting. We found that patients randomized to inhale isopropyl alcohol had
improved self-reported nausea scores compared to patients randomized to inhale
saline (placebo).

MedicalEditor’s note:  Do Not Do This Without Medical Supervision!

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. April: Nasal inhalation of isopropyl alcohol is a simple and safe agent for providing
at least short-term nausea relief. Administration is simple. A provider may
open one of the isopropyl alcohol disinfectant pads commonly found in the
hospital, and instruct a patient to take deep inhalations while holding the
pad approximately 1 inch from his or her nose.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. April: Our study only measured nausea scores through 10 minutes — future research
should examine longer time horizons to determine how long symptom relief
lasts. The next important step will be to compare isopropyl alcohol in a
randomized trial to commonly-used anti-emetic drugs. If future research can
demonstrate that isopropyl alcohol outperforms these drugs in treating nausea,
we will have identified a therapy which is both less expensive and likely
safer than our current anti-emetic options.

Citation:

Kenneth Beadle et al. Isopropyl Alcohol Nasal Inhalation for Nausea in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Annals of Emergency Medicine, December 2015 DOI:1016/j.annemergmed.2015.09.031

Michael D. April, MD, DPhil (2015). ER Trial of Inhaling Isopropyl Alcohol From Pads Reduced Nausea 

MedicalEditor’s note:  Do Not Do This Without Medical Supervision!

Last Updated on December 9, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD