Vomiting after head trauma and ondansetron: what are the risks and the possible benefits?

Key words: Minor head injury, Vomiting, Ondansetron

In children minor head trauma is one of the most frequent reasons for presentation to emergency departments and clinicians’ main goal is the prompt identification of any traumatic brain injury that requires immediate treatment. Vomiting is a common symptom after a head trauma at any age, but the incidence of traumatic brain injury without other symptoms and/or signs of head injury is infrequent. This article evaluates a review recently published in the literature on the possibility and risks of administering ondansetron in paediatric patients with vomiting after minor head trauma. The review suggests that there is no association between ondansetron administration and the risk of masking a serious intracranial injury or skull fracture. Furthermore, studies show a significant increase in the use of the drug in the context of head trauma over the course of the sampling period. However, the studies have limitations, so the results should be interpreted with caution, waiting for multicentre and prospective cohort studies.