title: Rapid intravenous administration of granisetron prior to chemotherapy is not arythmogenic: results of a pilot study.
abstract: Patients with advanced malignancy are at an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias, from their cancer and cardiotoxic treatments. Supportive care products co-administered should therefore not increase this risk. No clinically important cardiovascular effects are associated with the administration of granisetron over 30 s. To determine the effects of a rapid (1 s) injection of granisetron, 3 mg, on measures of cardiac repolarisation, a pilot study was performed in 17 patients undergoing moderately/highly emetogenic chemotherapy at two centres. All received dexamethasone, 8-12 mg, infused over 30 min, followed immediately by granisetron and then chemotherapy. Twelve-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) performed before granisetron treatment, 2 h later and the following day (11 patients) showed no differences in QTc(end max), QTc(apex max) or QT-interval dispersion between baseline and subsequent measurements, and there were no significant secondary adverse events. On this basis, granisetron should be considered the first-choice antiemetic for patients at increased risk of cardiac complications.
authors.affiliation: Clinique de Genolier, CH-1272, Genolier, Switzerland. aapro@cdg.ch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aapro
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bourke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000932:Antiemetics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D017829:Granisetron / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D010865:Pilot Projects
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D000932:Antiemetics; D017829:Granisetron