Nausea and vomiting are one of the major complications of chemotherapy for cancers. The aim of this study is to investigate the emetic effects and mechanisms involving serotonin and dopamine of needleless transcutaneous electroacupuncture (TEA) at Neiguan (PC6) and Jianshi (PC5) on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with cancers. Seventy-two patients with chemotherapy were ran...

Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the most common food-borne diseases and results from the ingestion of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) preformed in food by enterotoxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus. To date, more than 20 SEs have been described: SEA to SElV. All SEs have superantigenic activity whereas only a few have been proved to be emetic, representing a potential hazard for...

AIMS To describe the treatment of obesity from ancient times to present day. METHODS Articles reporting the development of anti-obesity therapies were identified through a search for 'anti-obesity' AND 'pharmacotherapy' AND 'development' within the title or abstract on PubMed and 'obesity' in ClinicalTrials.gov. Relevant articles and related literature were selected for inclusion. RESULTS S...

Methods Randomised three-group sham-controlled trial. Patients with heterogeneous cancer diagnoses receiving low, moderate and highly emetogenic chemotherapy randomised to receive, in addition to standardised antiemetics, either acupressure wristbands, sham acupressure wristbands or antiemetics alone. Patients were instructed to wear the wristbands for 7 days during each cycle of chemotherapy. ...

BACKGROUND We evaluated the efficacy and safety of single-dose fosaprepitant in combination with intravenous granisetron and dexamethasone. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients receiving chemotherapy including cisplatin (≥70 mg/m(2)) were eligible. A total of 347 patients (21% had received cisplatin with vomiting) were enrolled in this trial to receive the fosaprepitant regimen (fosaprepitant 150 mg...

PURPOSE To review and evaluate the potential cardiac effects of 5-HT(3) antiemetic treatment in patients who may be predisposed to cardiac complications resulting from malignancy, cytotoxic oncologic regimens, or preexisting comorbid conditions. DESIGN A literature review was conducted on the negative cardiovascular effects of chemotherapeutic agents, and, more specifically, on the cardiac in...

This is the report of a 55-yr-old female who developed severe myotonia and dystonia after general anaesthesia. Before starting on gabapentin therapy for a neuropathic pain condition, she had undergone numerous uneventful general anaesthetics. Since receiving treatment with gabapentin, she has experienced severe movement disorders on emergence from each subsequent general anaesthetic. The events...

BACKGROUND: Although guidelines for the care of the dying patient exist the evidence base to support the guidelines is poor. Some of the factors contributing to this include failure to recruit to trials, protective healthcare professionals and subsequent attrition from trials due to the death of the patients. Recent studies report favourably on the use of cluster randomisation as an appropriate...

The cost effectiveness of ondansetron was compared with that of metoclopramide in the prevention of acute emesis due to highly emetogenic chemotherapy in an open, randomised, parallel group pilot study. Ondansetron was given as three 8 mg intravenous doses (0, 4 and 8 h) and metoclopramide as an intravenous loading dose (3 mg/kg) followed by a maintenance dose of 0.5 mg/kg/h for 8 h. Therapeuti...

BACKGROUND Oncology providers frequently underestimate the incidence of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), and patients often are reluctant to report symptoms. Inadequate patient-provider communication is a significant barrier to optimal management of this debilitating toxicity. METHODS The author reviews relevant published data and methods to optimize the clinical care of patie...