Cardiac safety and clinical efficacy of high-dose domperidone for long-term treatment of gastroparesis symptoms

Abstract

Domperidone is an effective antiemetic used worldwide, but there have been reports of possible cardiotoxicity. Our goal was to explore the cardiac safety and clinical efficacy of long-term domperidone, titrated as high as 120 mg/day, in patients not responding or unable to tolerate other therapies for gastroparesis (GP).This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a single tertiary care academic center. We objectively assessed the safety and efficacy of domperidone through questionnaires, clinical follow-up and frequent ECGs as mandated by the Food and Drug Administration. We excluded patients with a history of dangerous arrhythmias, prolonged QTc, clinically significant electrolyte disturbances, gastrointestinal hemorrhage or obstruction, presence of a prolactinoma, pregnant or breastfeeding females, or allergy to domperidone. A total of 21 patients met the inclusion criteria for eligibility in this study (52.4% white, 42.9% Hispanic; mean age 50.1 years; 90.5% female). The mean duration of domperidone therapy was 52.3 (range 16–97) months with a mean highest dose of 80 mg/day (range 40–120 mg). Two patients (9.5%) taking 120 mg/day experienced asymptomatic meaningful QTc prolongation (>450 ms in males, >470 ms in females). One-third of patients had asymptomatic non-meaningful QTc prolongation. Palpitations or chest pain was reported in 19% of patients without ECG abnormalities or adverse cardiac events. The mean severity of vomiting and nausea was improved by 82% and 55%, respectively.Long-term treatment with high doses of domperidone (40–120 mg/day) improved GP symptoms in patients previously refractory to other medical therapies and with a satisfactory cardiovascular risk profile.