Rudolph Navari on Olanzapine for Preventing Nausea and Vomiting

Rudolph Navari, professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine — South Bend, discusses the effectiveness of olanzapine (Zyprexa) in preventing nausea and vomiting in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

In a phase III, randomized, double-blind study, Navari added olanzapine to a standard antiemetic regimen and compared it to a placebo with the same antiemetic regimen.

The standard antiemetic regimen supplemented with olanzapine was significantly effective in preventing nausea and vomiting. This was the first study that used nausea as a primary endpoint.

Olanzapine is currently approved by the FDA as an antipsychotic, but not for the prevention of nausea.

Navari says clinical practice should change to use olanzapine with a standard antiemetic regimen for patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.