Capsaicin as adjunctive topical therapy to relieve nausea and vomiting of pregnancy

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Created On: 16/08/2023

This double-blinded randomized controlled trial was carried out to examine the feasibility of off-label usage of capsaicin to treat morning sickness.

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Key take away

For nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, topical use of Capsaicin is an acceptable adjunctive therapy.

Background

This double-blinded randomized controlled trial was carried out to examine the feasibility of off-label usage of capsaicin to treat morning sickness.

Method

This research involved pregnant women in the initial stage of pregnancy who were seeking medical assistance for nausea and vomiting at a specialized hospital. Participants who agreed to take part in the study were randomly assigned to receive either topical capsaicin or a placebo applied to their abdomen. All volunteers were given intravenous hydration and Metoclopramide as part of their treatment.

The main focus of the study was to measure the total duration of treatment for each participant. Additionally, the severity of symptoms was assessed every 30 minutes with the aid of a visual analog scale (VAS). The collected data were examined utilizing Fisher exact test for the assessment of binary variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for the evaluation of continuous variables.

Result

Out of the initial pool of 38 eligible individuals, 30 were selected at random and assigned to their respective groups. The capsaicin group showed a tendency towards reduced mean treatment duration compared to the placebo group (79.9 minutes vs 97.3 minutes). At any time point, no profound differences were witnessed between the groups in terms of VAS scores. Additionally, capsaicin was well-tolerated, with only one participant requesting its removal.

Conclusion

Capsaicin is a viable option for treating nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, and further investigations into its efficacy are feasible. But, a larger trial is required to accurately explore capsaicin effectiveness in this specific population.