Intravenous Pyridoxine: Is It Effective in Control of Vomiting Due to Gastroenteritis in Children?

Antiemetic drugs can be used in complicated cases of vomiting secondary to gastroenteritis. There is no previous study dealing with the use of pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) in treatment of vomiting in pediatrics. This study intends to review the effects of intravenous pyridoxine on control of gastroenteritis related vomiting. This study is a single-blind randomized clinical trial with placebo. A total number of 147 children diagnosed with gastroenteritis induced vomiting and admitted in hospital, were studied and divided to two intervention and control groups. In the control group IV fluid with distilled water (placebo) was used and IV pyridoxine (2 mg/kg, once daily for 3 ds) was given along with IV fluid therapy in intervention group. Since admission for three days, frequency of vomiting, duration of hospitalization and other clinical signs and symptoms were collected in data form. Most children were male, aged between 6 mos and 2 yrs and having urban life. There was no significant difference between two groups in the mean of vomiting frequency during the period of hospitalization (p>0.05).There was also no significant difference between two groups in duration of hospitalization (p=0.19). Based on this study pyridoxine was not effective in treatment of vomiting due to gastroenteritis in children and did not reduce the duration of hospitalization. However, regarding the fact that there are only a few studies in this field, conducting more researches about the effect of pyridoxine in vomiting in children are recommended. Trial registration from IRCT (Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials): IRCT201108167342N1