What class of medication may be used to help treat nausea and vomiting for a patient with advanced gastric cancer?

Prepare for the Relias ENLEC Palliative Critical Care Test with comprehensive flashcards and multiple choice questions featuring hints and explanations. Enhance your readiness for success!

In the management of nausea and vomiting, particularly for patients with advanced gastric cancer, prokinetic medications play a significant role. These drugs enhance gastrointestinal motility, which can help alleviate nausea by facilitating gastric emptying and reducing the likelihood of vomiting. Prokinetics, such as metoclopramide, are particularly effective for patients experiencing symptoms related to gastric obstruction or gastroparesis, conditions that are often seen in advanced gastric cancer.

While antihistamines can be used to treat nausea, especially in cases related to motion sickness or vestibular causes, they may not be as effective for cancer-related nausea due to the complexity and multifactorial nature of the symptoms. Antidepressants could potentially help with nausea resulting from psychological factors, but they are not direct antiemetics and are not typically first-line treatments for nausea in patients with gastric cancer. Antipyretics, which are used to reduce fever, do not have a role in treating nausea or vomiting.

Therefore, prokinetics are the most appropriate choice when considering effective management strategies for nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced gastric cancer, making them the correct answer in this scenario.

Subscribe

Get the latest from Examzify

You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy