Doxylamine and pyridoxine for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy

January 01, 0001

Doxylamine and pyridoxine for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy

These investigators from Canada and the US evaluated the effectiveness of Diclectin (doxylamine succinate 10 mg-pyridoxine hydrochloride 10 mg, delayed-release preparation) as compared with placebo for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy in a randomized, double-blind, multicenter placebo controlled trial. Women received Diclectin (n = 131) or placebo (n = 125) for 14 days. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy symptoms were evaluated daily using the pregnancy unique quantification of emesis scale.

They found: "Diclectin use resulted in a significantly larger improvement in symptoms of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy compared with placebo based on both the pregnancy unique quantification of emesis score (- 4.8 vs -3.9) and quality of life. After the trial, 64 (48.9%) women receiving Diclectin asked to continue compassionate use of their medication, as compared with 41 (32.8%) of placebo-treated women."

The authors concluded: "Diclectin delayed release formulation of doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride is effective and well tolerated in treating nausea and vomiting of pregnancy."

The study was too small to assess safety.


For the full abstract, click here.

Am J Obstet Gynecol 203(6):571.e72, December 2010 © 2010 to Mosby, Inc.
Effectiveness of delayed-release doxylamine and pyridoxine for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a randomized placebo controlled trial. Gideon Koren, Shannon Clark, Gary D.V.Hankins, et al. Correspondence to Dr. Koren: [email protected]

Category: W. Pregnancy, Family Planning, D. Digestive. Keywords: doxylamine, effectivenss, nausea, emesis, pregnancy, pyridoxine, randomized controlled trial, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Linda French, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 18 January 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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