Nausea, vomiting, and retching: complex problems in palliative care
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 23, 2026

Ear Plaster Therapy as a Safe and Effective Treatment for Gestational Vomiting
Published on: August 4, 2023
1Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
Abstract:
Patients with advanced cancer commonly experience nausea, vomiting, and/or retching (NVR) as a result of the malignant process and its treatment. Recently, increasing attention is being focused on end-of-life care, which includes relief or reduction of symptoms such as NVR. Pre-chemotherapy preparation and patient education in the palliative care setting are essential to preventing acute and delayed distress from NVR, as well as anticipatory symptoms. Careful assessment of chemotherapy-related symptoms should distinguish between the three phenomena rather than taking a global approach. Strategies for preventing anticipatory nausea, for instance, may differ significantly from those designed to reduce frequency of vomiting. Management of anticancer treatment-related NVR should incorporate both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches, whenever appropriate, with the overall goal of improving and/or maintaining the patient's quality of life.
Related Concept Videos
Pathophysiology of Vomiting
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Dopamine Receptor Antagonists
Phenothiazines, such as prochlorperazine...
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Cannabinoids
Two synthetic agonists of THC,...
Bulimia Nervosa
