First10 EM - By Justin Morgenstern - December 2, 2019
"The paper
Meek R, Mee MJ, Egerton-Warburton D, et al. Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial of Droperidol and Ondansetron for Adult Emergency Department Patients With Nausea. Academic emergency medicine. 2019; 26(8):867-877. PMID: 30368981 Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000224325
Bottom line
This study demonstrated no improvement in nausea with droperidol and ondansetron. There were some secondary outcomes suggesting a treatment effect from droperidol, but there were also side effects. It is very hard to know what to do with this information. We probably need to use these medications less often, but relieving suffering is a huge part of our job, and nausea is a significant cause of suffering. I don’t think I am changing my practice significantly yet."