Background: Vomiting as a consequence of gastroenteritis frequently occurs in children. It is still debatable whether vomiting should be treated with antiemetic drugs.
Aim: To investigate potential beneficial effects of ondansetron in treating vomiting during acute gastroenteritis.
Methods: A randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed in our emergency departments. Children, aged 5 months to 8 years, were randomized to receive either ondansetron 0.2 mg/kg or placebo at 8h intervals. The primary outcome measure was the frequency of emesis during an 8-h-period after enrollment.
Results: A hundred and nine patients were enrolled; 54 received placebo and 55 received ondansetron. As compared with the children who received placebo, children who received ondansetron were less likely to vomit both during the first 8-h follow-up in the emergency department [relative risk (RR): 0.33, 95% CI: 0.19-0.56, NNT: 2, 95% CI: 1.6-3.5], and during the next 24-h follow-up (RR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.07-0.33, NNT: 2, 95% CI: 1.3-2.1).
Conclusion: Ondansetron may be an effective and efficient treatment that reduces the incidence of vomiting from gastroenteritis during both the first 8 h and the next 24 h, and is probably a useful adjunct to oral rehydration.