19 - Antiemetics Flashcards
What are the physiological steps of vomiting?
What are the inputs on the chemoreceptor trigger zone that can activate it and therefore cause vomiting?
CTZ is found on the floor of the fourth ventricle on the blood side of the BBB so can interact with toxins and things in the blood
Part of medulla
How can we stop nausea and vomiting?
Avoid the triggers or use drugs to target different triggers
What are the two classes of drug that act on the vestibular nuclei as antiemetics?
- Muscarinic receptor antagonists
- H1 receptor antagonists
How do muscarinic receptor antagonists act as anti-emetics and what are some examples of this class of drug?
Hyoscine Hydrobromide (oral or patch)
- Competitive blockage of muscarinic receptors in the vestibular nuclei and CTZ
- Antispasmodic
- Good for people who cannot take tablets, motion sickness and bowel obstruction
What are the side effects of hyoscine hydrobromide?
- Classic anticholinergic side effects
- Can exploit side effects, e.g long flight motion sickness and sedation for sleep
How do H1 receptor antagonists work as an antiemetic and what are some examples of this type of drug?
- Act centrally on the vestibular nuclei and inhibit histaminergic signals from vestibular system to the CTZ in medulla
- Good for motion sickness on long journeys
- Promethazine used for morning sickness
What are the side effects of the class of antiemetic drugs containing cyclizine?
H1 receptor antagonist!
- Cyclizine is the most common antiemetic but cannot be used in old women and children as they are affected most by excitation side effects
What are some classes of antiemetics that work by blocking visceral aferents in the gut?
- 5HT3 receptor antagonists
- D2 receptor antagonists
What is the normal function of serotonin in the gut?
- Produced by enterochromaffin cells in response to parasympathetic stimulation
- Regulates appetite, causes smooth muscle contraction so increased motility and increased gut secretions
How do 5HT3 receptor antagonists work as antiemetics and what are some examples of this type of drug?
Ondansetron
- Acts on visceral afferents in the gut so peripherally reduces GI motility and GI secretions
- Centrally inhibits the CTZ
- OFTEN FIRST LINE TREATMENT
What are some of the side effects of Ondansetrons and other serotonin receptor antagonists?
How do D2 receptor antagonists work as antiemetics (by targeting visceral afferents of the gut) and what are some examples of this type of drug?
Domperidone and Metoclopramide (also 5HT3 antagonist)
- Increases Ach at muscarinic receptors in the gut
- Promotes gastric emptying by increasing tone of LOS and decreasing tone of pylorus so it opens. Also increased tone of gastric contractions
- Increases peristalsis
Apart from emesis, what are metoclopramide and domperidone used for?
Metoclopramide: GORD and ileus
Domperidone: improving lactation in breastfeeding mothers
What are some side effects of antiemetics from the D2 receptor antagonist class?
Metoclopramide: galactorrhoea due to prolactin release, extra-pyramidal effects (e.g dystonia and parkinsonianism)
Domperidone: sudden cardiac death (long QT and VT) so not used very often, galactorrhea