A comparative study of efficacy of olanzapine and aprepitant in prevention of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Aims: To compare the efficacy of Olanzapine and Aprepitant in prevention of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting and To compare the side effects of both the drugs. To evaluate the cost benefits of both the drugs. Materials and methods: A comparative study conducted in All the patients attending outpatient and inpatient department for chemotherapy at MNJ cancer hospital, Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad. It is the largest tertiary care center in the state of Telangana, in 30 patients for a period of 18 months Results: In study mean age was 53.47±8.33 years. All the cases among the study patients of both the groups experiences mild vomiting. Among Olanzapine group, one case had severe nausea. Among Olanzapine group, two cases had delayed nausea. The association between the type of the drug with acute vomiting, acute nausea, delayed vomiting a and delayed nausea was not statistically significant. It means that both the drugs are comparable in terms of chemotherapy. The mean price per cycle of olanzapine is 40 INR, when compared to Aprepitant which is 1500 INR. This huge difference between the cost makes Olanzapine the most cost effective drug especially and Low and Middle Income settings. No other drug side effects were noted during the study period.Conclusion: Keeping in view the cost of the drug, Olanzapine can be considered in low and middle income settings. Olanzapine is the better, safe, cost effective alternative than Aprepitant.