In this episode we speak to Anouk Weghorst who is a doctoral candidate in the Department of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University of Groningen, Netherlands.

Paper: Oral ondansetron for paediatric gastroenteritis in primary care: a randomised controlled trial

https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0211

Ondansetron was found to be effective in reducing vomiting in secondary care, but this effect has never been evaluated in primary care. Based on the findings of this study, ondansetron use is effective in reducing vomiting from 42.9% to 19.5%, seems safe and is positively evaluated by parents. Therefore, ondansetron could be considered by general practitioners as an additional treatment in the management of dehydration due to acute gastroenteritis, when the child predominantly vomits. Future research should disentangle the key factors leading to hospital referrals and consider ways to administer ORT more effectively in primary care or at home.