Domperidone: off the market or freely available?

The oral formula of domperidone has been associated with sudden cardiac death due to QT prolongation. The daily dose of 30 mg appears to be safe but higher doses increase the risk of fatal arrhythmias. There are more than 120 drugs that can prolong the QT interval and provoke these dangerous arrhyth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde Vol. 157; no. 45; p. A6950
Main Author Otten, Marten H
Format Journal Article
LanguageDutch
Published Netherlands 2013
Subjects
Antiemetics - adverse effects
Death, Sudden, Cardiac - etiology
Domperidone - adverse effects
Humans
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Summary:The oral formula of domperidone has been associated with sudden cardiac death due to QT prolongation. The daily dose of 30 mg appears to be safe but higher doses increase the risk of fatal arrhythmias. There are more than 120 drugs that can prolong the QT interval and provoke these dangerous arrhythmias. Simultaneous use of these drugs and domperidone should be avoided since this increases the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. In the Netherlands domperidone is exclusively available in pharmacies. This sufficiently guarantees vigilance for rare and dangerous interactions with other drugs to make domperidone available without prescription.
ISSN:0028-2162
1876-8784