Gastrointestinal Drugs and Medications Q 14
Jam is under chemotherapy in which nausea is an expected side effect. Which of the following drugs is indicated to prevent such side effects?
A. metoclopramide
B. cimetidine
C. tagamet
D. famotidine
Correct Answer: A. metoclopramide
This is the only drug among the choices that is indicated to prevent nausea. Metoclopramide has been approved by the FDA specifically to treat nausea and vomiting in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease or diabetic gastroparesis by increasing gastric motility. It is also used to control nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients.
Option B: Cimetidine is a gastric acid reducer used in the short-term treatment of duodenal and gastric ulcers. The drug is effective in managing gastric hypersecretion, and therefore, used for the management of reflux esophagitis disease and in the prevention of stress ulcers. With the development of proton pump inhibitors, such as omeprazole, approved for the same indications, cimetidine is available as an over the counter formulation for the prevention of heartburn or acid indigestion, along with the other H2-receptor antagonists.
Option C: Tagamet (cimetidine) is a histamine receptor antagonist used to treat and prevent certain types of ulcer, and to treat conditions that cause the stomach to produce too much acid. Tagamet is also used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus and causes heartburn.
Option D: Famotidine decreases the production of stomach acid, and its pharmacologic activity is used in the treatment of acid-related gastrointestinal conditions. Famotidine is a competitive histamine H-receptor antagonist (H2RA) that binds to the H-receptors located on the basolateral membrane of the parietal cell in the stomach, effectively blocking histamine actions. Its pharmacologic activity results in the inhibition of gastric secretion by suppressing acid concentration and volume of gastric secretion.