15 –19 The first prospective study looking at the safety of ondansetron in pregnancy was a multicentre (Canada and Australia) cohort controlled e study which followed up 176 pregnancies with first trimester exposure to ondansetron and compared
1, 2 Although the term morning sickness is commonly used to describe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy Ondansetron is a selective 5-HT3 serotonin antagonist used in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced and post-operative nausea and vomiting, and off-licence for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) and hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)
During the period between 1998 and 2012, 1349 women received ondansetron in early pregnancy
Recent studies have provided conflicting findings on the safety of ondansetron during pregnancy
In recent years, ondansetron has received increasing attention for its efficacy and safety in treating morning sickness in pregnancy (Kennedy, 2016)
Keep reading to learn about ondansetron’s safety during pregnancy and while breastfeeding
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing the public of an ongoing safety review of the anti-nausea drug Zofran (ondansetron, ondansetron hydrochloride and their generics)
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Background: Ondansetron is commonly used to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy despite inconclusive evidence of its safety
Data sources: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, Journals@Ovid Fulltext, ClinicalTrials
Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) affects up to 80% of pregnant women, most commonly between 5 and 18 weeks of gestation
Zofran is not currently approved by the FDA for morning sickness