استمداد از گیاهان دارویی به عنوان راهکاری برای تخفیف استفراغ مرحله حاد ناشی از شیمی درمانی

  Background: Acute vomiting is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy during the first 24h in patients with cancer. This study investigated the palliative effect of ginger extract on the rate of this complication.   Methods: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial that was conducted from August to December 2009 in Imam Khomeini Hospital on 80 women with breast cancer undergoing 1-day chemotherapy periods and suffering from vomiting. After obtaining written consent, the samples were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. Two groups were matched with each other based on the age and emetic risk of chemotherapy drugs used. Participants of the ginger group received ginger capsules(250mg, orally), four times a day (1gr/d) and the samples from the control group received placebo capsules containing starch from three days before to three days after chemotherapy. During this period, to measure the effect of capsules, a two-part questionnaire was used. So, the patients filled these tools out every night. Then, gathered data were analyzed using statistical tests like Fisher’s exact, Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square by the STATA software version 8.   Results: The two groups were matched with each other according to the emetic risk of chemotherapy drugs and disease duration (p=0.1, p=0.06, respectively). Results indicated that the cases of vomiting in the acute phase were significantly lower in the ginger group compared with placebo group (p=0.04). Also taking ginger capsules compared with placebo did not wake certain complications (p=0.06).   Conclusion: Taking ginger powder capsules (1gr/d) starting three days before chemotherapy for six days and beyond the routine anti-emetic regimen could reduce the acute phase vomiting.