Palliative Medicine Strategies for Nausea and Vomiting


5-HT3 receptor antagonists for the treatment of nausea/vomiting

Howard S. Smith, Lorraine R. Cox, Eric J. Smith

Abstract

It is well appreciated that a number of things (e.g., various insults, chemotherapeutic agents, radiation) may lead to the release of serotonin from the enterochromaffin of the gastrointestinal tract. Released serotonin may then bind to certain 5-HT3 receptors and promote nausea/vomiting. 5-HT3 receptor antagonists may ameliorate nausea/vomiting in a number of circumstances and have been utilized as important antiemetics for multiple conditions such as chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting (CINV), radiation-induced emesis (RIS), and postoperative nausea/vomiting (PONV).

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