Gastrointestinal drugs

This chapter presents a case study in which hypercalcemia associated with the use of calcium-containing antacids was reported during pregnancy; the condition was severe enough to be treated with hemodialysis. The fetus was delivered a month later and had an uncomplicated neonatal course. In another study, the antiemetic efficacy of alizapride and metoclopramide in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy was compared in two randomized clinical trials. These trials showed less antiemetic efficacy for alizapride, and a similar incidence of adverse effects. The metoclopramide-induced acute movement disorders revealed that acute movement disorders occur in about 1 in 80 young adults prescribed metoclopramide in general practice, and it may be more common in young women. Domperidone also has a similar antiemetic profile to metoclopramide, but it does not readily enter the central nervous system, thus having a lower propensity for causing extrapyramidal adverse effects. A case of domperidone-related neuroleptic malignant syndrome was reported in a patient who had been taking the drug to treat a diabetic gastroparesis.