Clinical pharmacology of ondansetron in postoperative nausea and vomiting

Ondansetron is a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist which is effective and well tolerated as an antiemetic for emesis induced by cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and in the prevention and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Ondansetron is rapidly absorbed after oral administration (tmax 1.9 h) with an absolute bioavailability of around 60%. Its terminal elimination half-life is 3.5 h and it is extensively hepatically metabolized. Plasma clearance is 0.38 litre h-1 kg-1 and volume of distribution is 1.8 litre kg-1. Plasma clearance is reduced by age (31% reduction) and hepatic failure (80% reduction in severe failure). In patients undergoing general anaesthesia there is a slight prolongation of terminal half-life, which is not of clinical significance. Ondansetron is very well tolerated in volunteer studies. Headache, mild abdominal pain, and constipation occur infrequently. There is no evidence for effects of ondansetron on cardiac function (electrocardiogram, cardiac output, blood pressure and heart rate), and haemostatic function in volunteers and patients. Respiratory depression induced during general anaesthesia is not potentiated by ondansetron. No drug interactions have been noted with temazepam, atracurium, alfentanil and alcohol in man. There are also no interactions seen in animal studies using pentobarbitone, morphine, neostigmine, prednisolone and diazepam.