Use and misuse of domperidone in patients living with Parkinson disease in France

Abstract

Context

After observing increased sudden death risk associated with domperidone use, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) imposed usage restrictions in 2014, limiting age (≤60 years), daily dose (≤30 mg/day), and duration (≤7 days). Nausea commonly occurs as an adverse effect of dopaminergic drugs in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, with few alternative anti-emetic options. This study aimed to assess domperidone prescription patterns in French PD patients.

Methods

In this multicenter study, all consecutive PD patients from participating expert centers, hospitals, and private neurologists were included. We documented demographics, clinical data, comorbidities, domperidone use (indication, dose, and duration), and concurrent medications (related to PD or not). Domperidone misuse was assessed based on EMA guidelines.

Results

Between January and October 2021, 1579 patients from 16 centers (12 French PD expert centers, two general hospitals, and two private practice neurologists) were included. Among them, 109 (7%) received domperidone: 32 (29%) for nausea during apomorphine infusion, 71 (65%) for nausea during other dopaminergic therapies, and three (3%) for orthostatic hypotension. Domperidone misuse was found in 103 patients (95%): treatment duration >7 days (84%), age >60 years (79%), contraindicated drug interactions (6%), and contraindications due to cardiac comorbidity (5%). Only one patient exceeded the recommended dose (30 mg/day).

Conclusion

Domperidone is still prescribed in France for PD patients with dopaminergic-induced nausea, mostly disregarding EMA guidelines due to patient age (>60 years) and prolonged treatment (>7 days). Our study underscores the unmet need for managing gastrointestinal symptoms in PD, highlighting the inadequacy of EMA guidelines in this population.