Antiemetic efficacy of high-dose dexamethasone: randomized, double-blind, crossover study with high-dose metoclopramide in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy

Abstract A double-blind, randomized, crossover study was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of high-dose dexamethasone and high-dose metoclopramide in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. All entered patients had no prior chemotherapy and all received inpatient emetogenic chemotherapy mainly without cisplatin. Of the 40 evaluable patients, 23 (58%) had no vomiting with dexamethasone compared with only 11 (28%) receiving metoclopramide ( P P P , respectively). Twenty-one patients (53%) developed mild to severe somnolence with metoclopramide compared to only seven (18%) who experienced this adverse effect with dexamethasone ( P