Does Ondansetron Mask Alternative Diagnoses in Children with Suspected Gastroenteritis?

Children who received ondansetron were more likely to return and to be admitted at the return visit but were not more likely to be given alternative diagnoses.

Does use of ondansetron in children with suspected gastroenteritis affect likelihood of admission, return visits, or alternative diagnoses? To find out, investigators conducted a retrospective chart review of 34,117 patients (age range, 3 months to 18 years) who received diagnoses of vomiting or gastroenteritis at two tertiary care pediatric emergency departments (EDs) over a 3-year period. Fifty-eight percent of patients received ondansetron.

In logistic regression analyses, patients who received ondansetron were significantly less likely than those who did not receive ondansetron to be admitted on the initial visit (odds ratio, 0.47) but were significantly more likely to return within 72 hours (OR, 1.45) and to be admitted on the return vi…

Reviewing Author

Katherine Bakes, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier)

Grant/Research SupportDepartment of Justice

Editorial BoardsEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier); Rosen’s Emergency Medicine (Elsevier)

Katherine Bakes, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier)

Grant/Research SupportDepartment of Justice

Editorial BoardsEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier); Rosen’s Emergency Medicine (Elsevier)