Nausea and vomiting remain a significant clinical problem: trends over time in controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in 1413 patients treated in community clinical practices.

Data from 1413 outpatients in community-based clinical practices were collected in order to characterize the use and effectiveness of 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists for control of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (NV). Patients were divided by treatment starting date into six cohorts for trend analysis. In addition, NV symptoms were compared in 252 patients treated prior to the commercial introduction of the 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist antiemetics, and an equal number of patients treated after their introduction. A comparison of cohorts revealed a significant (P = 0. 027) downward trend over time for the frequency of post-treatment vomiting episodes, but not for frequency of post-treatment nausea (P = 0.69). The average duration of nausea following treatment increased significantly over time (P = 0.003). Although the introduction of 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist antiemetics has apparently led to a significant reduction in the frequency of post-treatment vomiting, there has been an accompanying increase in the duration of post-treatment nausea.