Capsaicin Cream as an Adjunctive Therapy for Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy
Status:
Not yet recruiting
Trial end date:
2023-10-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Between fifty and eighty percent of pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting in
pregnancy making it one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy. Hyperemesis
gravidarum is an extreme form of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and results in evidence of
acute starvation (i.e. large ketonuria), and weight loss (>5% of a woman's pre-pregnancy
weight). Hyperemesis gravidarum is also surprisingly common. In fact, it is the second
leading cause of preterm hospitalization during pregnancy, second only preterm labor.
Hospitalization is often required because hyperemesis is frequently refractory to common
anti-nausea medications. However, capsaicin cream, a potent TRPV1 agonist, commonly used to
relieve muscular and neuropathic pain, may be able to reduce the symptoms of nausea and
emesis in patients with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Smaller studies have demonstrated
capsaicin to be both safe and effective when used to treat intraoperative nausea during
cesarean delivery. To begin to address whether capsaicin cream could be used to reduce
preterm admissions and shorten emergency room visits for hyperemesis, this study will
randomize women presenting to the emergency room for nausea and vomiting to treatment with
capsaicin cream as an adjunctive medication or routine care. The project will investigate the
impact of capsaicin cream on hospital length of stay as well as representation for additional
treatment. If effective, capsaicin cream has the potential not only to reduce emergency room
visits, hospital admissions and overall health care costs, but also to drastically improve
patient quality of life.