[Evaluation of short-time premedication with d-chlorpheniramine maleate injection for paclitaxel-induced...

Paclitaxel(referred to hereinafter as PTX )is used in ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, and endometrial cancer with positive treatment result reports. However, severe allergic reactions such as decreases in blood pressure and impaired breathing occur with relatively high frequency. For the prevention of such allergic reactions, administration of a premedication composed of the three components, dexamethasone sodium phosphate injection, diphenhydramine hydrochloride tablet, and ranitidine hydrochloride injection solution(or injectable famodine), is advised in the appended documentation. Administration is difficult because, among these three components, only diphenhydramine hydrochloride is administered orally and thus must be provided through the internal medicine department. Particularly when this combined dosage is administered as outpatient chemotherapy, the doctor must prescribe diphenhydramine hydrochloride tablets, and the patient must not forget to bring them on the day in which chemotherapy is administered. Also, checks by the medical staff such as pharmacists and nurses are required, complicating the administration of this therapy further. Taking this situation into consideration, our hospital uses a short-time premedication method wherein d-Chlorpheniramine Maleate injections are substituted for diphenhydramine hydrochloride tablets, and the time required for premedication is reduced to 15 minutes. This study investigated the allergic reaction ratio to consider the safety and usefulness of the short-time premedication method used at our hospital. The chemotherapy regimens conducted for the subject patients were 9 cases of PTX+CBDCA, 6 cases of biweekly- PTX, and 5 cases of weekly-PTX. A total of 67 PTX injections were given, 15 of them being first-time administrations. The ratio of allergic/hypersensitivity reactions was 10.0%(2 cases in 20). The short-time premedication method using d-Chlorpheniramine Maleate injections did not display a significant difference from the conventional method used for prevention of allergic and hypersensitivity reactions. Also, since this method of medication proves useful for is easy for the patient, reduces treatment time, is safe, economical, and helps reduce the workload of doctors, pharmacists, and nurses.