Promoting tolerance of enteral feeds in children and young people: domperidone

How well does domperidone work?

Just 1 study was found that looked at how well domperidone worked in children or young people under 18 who were tube fed.

The study included 22 newborns who were born early (premature), were very underweight, and were being looked after in an intensive care unit. The newborns were tube fed (through the nose) their usual meal of milk and were also given either domperidone or water (a placebo treatment containing no active ingredient) for 48 hours.

The study found that the stomach contents of the newborns emptied faster into the gut when they were given domperidone than when they were given water and they became less constipated. However, the number of times the newborns vomited was no different when they were given domperidone than when they were given water. It wasn't clear how well the medicine improved other symptoms of feeding intolerance.

From the little evidence found, it appears that domperidone may be better than water at improving some symptoms of feeding intolerance. However, the study was very small and didn't last for long meaning the results may not reliable. Also, because the study only included newborns, it does not provide any information on whether domperidone works in older children or young people.

Overall, there is very little evidence available to tell us how well domperidone works at improving feeding intolerance in children and young people being tube fed.

What are the possible harms or side effects?

The study in newborns was too small and short to provide reliable information on the possible harms or side effects of using domperidone.

However, domperidone has been used in studies of other conditions, and some of these studies found that domperidone may be linked to a higher risk of rare but serious heart problems, such as problems with the rhythm and electrical activity of the heart.

Because of the possibility of someone having these serious side effects while using domperidone, the medicines regulator that gives licences to drugs in Europe has started a large review of all medicines containing domperidone to determine how safe it is to use the drug. While the review is taking place, the medicines regulator says that patients should speak to their doctor or pharmacist if they have any questions or concerns.